Behind Those Hazel Eyes
by TheAnimeFicWriter
Summary: A crime-filled girl has to start over in a small town with nothing to do. Her family wants her to change her life, but how will she be able to do that? It could be the help of a mysterious girl with an even more mysterious story
1. Chapter 1

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 1

A Rough Start

**Note:** So I really enjoyed writing this story, but as I continued to think, I started to wonder if there was a way to please everyone. I noticed that I made so minor mistakes and left out a few things. So now, I've rewritten everything just for you guys. The story is still the same, but I added more depth and hopefully, it'll give you all the same amount of feels like before.

Yang Xiao Long, an 18 year old girl who's nothing but trouble for her caretakers, has finally hit rock bottom. She has been under the household of her father, mother, step mother, and close family friends, but no one has been able to handle her as a person. She's been in and out of juvie on multiple counts of fighting and stealing. Regardless of these mistakes, she still commits them so now, she's being forced to live with her grandmother in a remote town, away from the big city. Her family's hopes are that she'll learn to be a better person and maybe understand what it means to be a responsible adult.

...

As the car ride continued, Yang had her eyes out of the car, wishing that she could be away from all of this crap. She didn't want to be with her family, she didn't want to be with anyone. To her, other people were just a hassle that she had to deal with. One of those bothers was her father. She was driving with her father as he was going to drop her off at her grandmother's house. The trip was a distant one so there was a lot of time to talk. However, no words were shared. The two of them looked different ways and remained silent. He looked over at Yang who wasn't looking at him.

"Yang, I really want you to change yourself. All of this bad girl stuff has got to stop. We're doing this because we don't have a lot of time on our hands and your grandmother has been wanting to see you for a long time. You know your grandmother is quite an elderly lady so she's not gonna be able to take care of you like the rest of us had to do for you. So just behave and maybe you'll learn something from her." Yang groaned and turned to look at her dad.

"Okay, first of all, I don't care. I never asked for this. I don't need people telling me what to do. And second, I hate everyone so stop thinking I'll listen to you guys because I won't. I think it's time to let me do whatever I want." She turned back to look out the window in frustration.

"You know Yang, you won't be able to act like this forever. Sooner or later, something is gonna come your way which will make you change how you see life. Fortunately, something already happened to you, but you decided to brush it off like nothing. I really hope you can grow out of your childish behaviors."

"Whatever," she said as she rolled her eyes.

A few minutes went by when they finally arrived at her grandmother's house. Her father didn't bother getting out to help her. All she had was her backpack and bag full of clothes. She slammed the trunk shut and walked onto her lawn without even saying goodbye. She looked at the house and was disappointed. It was an older looking house with an Asian style design to it. It looked big from the outside, but it smelt like old lady. She pulled out her headphones and put them on her head with the music blasting at intense volumes. Her father saw that she wasn't going to look back so he drove off without saying anything else to her. She knocked on the door and after a few seconds passed, the door slid opened, revealing her grandmother, as old as could be.

"Why hello Yang, it's been so long. How are you?" She walked in without a care in the world.

"I'm fine," she said half-assed.

"Well, come on in. Your room is upstairs. I hope it's not too small for you kids nowadays." Yang took her things upstairs without saying anything. As she made her way upstairs, she was stopped by her grandmother's words. "Oh yeah, one more thing. You're enrolled in the school here. The first day of school is tomorrow and your family expects you to attend for the duration of your stay." She snapped off her headphones in anger.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't come here to go to school. I came here to be left alone."

"I know dear, but I think you'll like it. I went there myself and I had a wonderful time. Please, just try it out for one day and if you don't like it, I'll tell your family something went down to where you couldn't go." As her grandmother stared down Yang, Yang's anger slowly faded away.

"Alright, fine." She turned around and headed up to her room.

"Lunch will be ready in a couple of minutes, okay?"

"Whatever."

She made it upstairs and saw a door with a sign above it that read, "Yang's room." She walked to the door and slid it open. To her surprise, it was actually a pretty big room. There was a closet, lots of room with all of the stuff already in there, and a nice view of the outside surroundings. She threw her stuff on the ground and plopped on the bed. She stared at the ceiling and immediately a strong whiff of something unpleasant.

"Ugh, it smells like old lady in here. Great." She sat back up and unpacked her things. Once she finished putting away her things, her grandmother called for her from downstairs saying that lunch was ready. She walked out and headed downstairs.

When she walked into the kitchen, she was surprised again. The kitchen was huge and full of light. However, she didn't let it show on her face. She just walked in with a bored look and sat down at the table. Her grandmother had made her a special ingredient noodle soup. Yang looked in her bowl and was not impressed.

"Um, is there anything else to eat?"

"I'm sorry dear. I'm running low on cooking materials and this was all I could make. You can go into town and buy some stuff." Without another word, she stood up and dumped her bowl into the sink. She walked to the front door, but realized that she didn't have any money. Her grandmother watched as she came to a halt at the door. "Do you need money?" She didn't respond. She just dropped her head and looked at the floor. "My purse on the counter right there. Go ahead and take as much as you'd like." Immediately, Yang's face lit up. She quickly ran to her purse and pulled out everything that was in it. There was $200 inside and she shoved it in her pocket as she walked out of the house.

"I'm leaving now."

"Bye. Have fun," she yelled, completely unaware of how much Yang took with her into town.

As she walked into town, she was immediately disappointed. The town was small with only one stoplight. There were a couple of small stores lined up down each street, but nothing she recognized. There was one actual grocery store which she decided to go into first. She walked in and saw that it was smaller than anything she's ever seen. The store maybe had 4 aisles of things with only a small produce section. She sighed and did her best to pick up things that caught her attention. When she finished, she examined the front of the store and saw that only one person was working. At that counter, there was a long line of people waiting so she decided to bypass it. She put her things behind her back and slowly crept to the front door where she was immediately halted.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Yang stopped dead in her tracks as a random man was pointing at her. The workers stopped what they were doing. They saw her with her hands full of things and grabbed her before she could get out.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I was just going to pay," she said with a sigh.

"That's right." The workers guided Yang to the back of the line where she waited her turn and paid for her things like every honest person in town. When she finished, she grabbed her things and curtsied to the workers. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

"I will," she said with attitude.

After her failed attempt at the grocery store, she moped around town looking for something else to do. She wandered around aimlessly for a couple of minutes until she came across a movie store and decided to check it out. She walked in and wasn't surprised as the store was super small. Even though it was small, the store was packed with people for this was the only movie store in the city. She started to browse their selections and noticed that their selection wasn't that bad. Some of the things on the shelves were early releases of new movies. As she browsed more and more, she came across her favorite movie: _The Adventures of X-Ray and Vav._ She took it off the shelf and checked its contents. It was $35. She opened up the case and saw that the disk was inside. She peered her eyes over the shelves and saw that no one was looking. As slyly as she could, she calmly slipped the movie underneath her jacket and made her way to the door where she was grabbed by the store manager. His hand was firm on her arm and there was nowhere for her to go.

"Come with me miss." She sighed and dropped the movie on the ground. The manager led her to the back of the store where he questioned her after that. "You're not from around her, are you?"

"Wow, what makes you say that?"

"Well, this is a small town where everybody knows everybody. When someone new comes into town, we can easily take notice and see what kind of person they are. Unfortunately for you, you've made a bad first impression. Now, I'm gonna let you off with a warning, but in this town, we don't take lightly to law breakers so get out." She stood up and made her way to the door. "Here." She turned around and saw the movie fly at her face. "Consider this as a welcoming gift from the citizens of this peaceful town." She stared at the movie and left.

As she walked home, she was totally disappointed with herself. She was caught twice in one day. This never happened back home. She was wondering what has happened. Did she get soft? Was she losing her edge? She didn't get it. There was nothing special about this town so she should have been able to get away with it. She sighed and kept her mind blank until she got home. By the time she got home, she sun had already set and her groceries were getting old. She opened the front door and walked in without saying anything. She made her way into the kitchen and dumped the food on the counter and started to cook. A few minutes went by when her grandmother made her way back into the kitchen.

"Wow, I had no idea you could cook."

"I have a lot of free time on my hands. I had to occupy myself sometimes." She smelled the food and smiled as she left the kitchen.

Once she finished her food, she went upstairs to get ready for bed. When she got back in her room, she saw the note from the school saying that she was accepted. She grabbed it off the table and stared at it as she fell onto her bed.

"Ugh fine." She crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room. She put her arm over her eyes and sighed. "This is really gonna suck." She turned off the lights and went to bed, thinking about the horrible images that came to mind when she thought about school.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 2

A Rough First Day

Yang woke up the next day to the sounds of vacuuming coming from downstairs. She groaned and shoved her face into her pillow. She lazily fell off her bed and laid on the ground for a few seconds until she finally got up to get ready. After she finished, she headed downstairs where breakfast was waiting for her. Her grandmother had made her pancakes with scrambled eggs. She didn't object to the offering so she quickly ate her food and headed out without saying goodbye. Her grandmother watched as she made her way outside and slammed the door shut. She smiled and shook her head as she continued to clean the house.

As she walked through town, she saw swarms of students making their way to school. They all had several others walking with them and Yang was all by herself. She liked it this way, actually. She didn't want to have to deal the pressures and problems of having friends. To her, friends were just a hassle that she had to keep tabs on or else that might feel that she was neglecting them. She quickly brushed away that thought and continued to walk. A few minutes passed and she finally arrived on campus. The school itself seemed pretty small, but had a huge front lawn with benches, trees, and huge murals covering the walls of the school. She sighed and pulled out her headphones. She got the feeling that it was going to be one of those schools she hated so much.

She walked further into school and pulled out the paper that had her classroom assignment. She didn't even realize that she got to school so she decided to find her classroom before everything got chaotic, but when she found it, she quickly distanced herself from it. Unfortunately, she was stopped by a passing teacher.

"Sorry, but headphones are not allowed on campus." Yang pulled them off and shoved them in her backpack with frustration.

"Sorry, what'd you say?"

"I said headphones are not allowed. Everyone knows that... Wait, are you that new student that transferred here?" Yang sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Great, you're in my homeroom. Class is about to start so follow me and I'll have you introduce yourself to the class." The teacher made her way to the class, but Yang didn't follow.

"Sorry, but I'm not that kind of person to talk about myself. I like to keep a low profile." The teacher stopped and smiled, then turned around back at Yang.

"It's not a request, it's a requirement." She grabbed Yang's wrist and guided her to the room where she made her wait outside until class started.

The bell rang and everybody scurried off to class. As Yang watched as students filed into the room she was waiting for, she noticed that they were all staring at her, boys and girls alike. After a couple of seconds, the halls became silent and she was the only one left outside. From inside, she could hear the teacher speaking to the class.

"Alright class, I know it may seem a little weird for a small school like ours, but we have a transfer student joining us today. You may come in now." Yang slid the door open and walked in with absolutely no spirit on her face. She stopped in front of the class and remained silent. "Well, are you gonna introduce yourself?" She sighed.

"My name's Yang Xiao Long. I'm not from here. I hope we can all be friends," she said with a fake smile on her face. Immediately, all of the guys in the room started cheering.

"Oh my God, she's so hot!"

"You wanna go out with me!"

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Yang rolled her eyes. She just got there and all the guys were already so interested in her.

"Class, please! Let's behave now. We want Yang to feel welcome. Now, let's find you a seat." A boy in the front of the class raised his hand.

"She can sit by me." Yang looked at him and he winked at her. She rolled her eyes again and looked away.

"No, that's for our class president. Ah, the seat in the back is available. Go ahead and take that seat."

"Perfect, exactly where I wanted to be." She grabbed her things and made her way to the back of the room. On her way there, a boy stuck out his hand and touched her thigh. Yang stopped and looked at him. He obviously had dirty intensions. She bowed to him and smiled.

"Hey baby." Her face got closer and his face started to light up. However, Yang pressed her hand against his face and shoved him onto the ground. "Ow, what was that for?!"

"Yang!"

"What?! It's his fault he's on the ground." Her teacher sighed.

"Just get to your seat." The boy on the ground gave Yang a dirty look. She lunged at him and he cowered into a ball and she chuckled as she finally got to her seat.

There, she dropped her things on the floor and leaned back in her seat. Things were going so well already and it hasn't even been an hour yet. The teacher began her daily lecture of things that were going on at school and to remind everyone that the fall dance was approaching. Yang, especially, groaned at the idea of a dance. Then suddenly, the door slid open and a girl came through.

"I am so sorry. Traffic today was really bad and I didn't see it coming."

"It's alright Blake. We haven't talked about anything new yet so you're fine. And plus, everyone here understands your situation so there's no fret." She smiled and bowed to the teacher. She made her way to her seat in the front of the class when she stopped right before her desk and looked around the room.

"We have a new classmate, don't we?"

"Why yes we do. She's in the back. Yang, do you wanna stand up and introduce yourself to our class president?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Her teacher started to grow angry, but Blake butted in.

"It's alright Ms. Goodwitch. It'll happen in time. No need to force it. I'm Blake Belladonna, by the way."

"Cool," she said as she leaned further back with her feet on the table.

The announcements continued to come and nothing was exciting Yang. She was actually falling asleep by this unnecessary talking. As the talking continued, Yang's eyes started to feel heavy and she closed them. While this happened, the guys she was sitting next to started to play with her hair and tried to lift up her skirt. She opened her eyes immediately at what was happening. She kicked her chair at one of the guys and punched the other one right in the gut.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded a response, but the two guys were on the ground in pain, unable to answer her.

"Yang, that's enough. I don't need you hurting my students right now. Just go to the principal's office."

"Whatever. I bet it's better than here." Blake turned around and raised her hand.

"Would you like me to show her where it is since it's her first day?"

"Sure Blake. I trust you know what we're studying right now. Blake will show you where to go." Yang turned and waved her hand as she left the class. Blake quickly grabbed her things and tried to catch up with Yang.

When she did, she didn't really know what to say to Yang. She just remained quiet and walked beside Yang. The trip to the principal's office was quite a distance so Blake had to break the ice somehow.

"Um, I'm Blake."

"I don't care."

"Oh, okay." She was definitely much more difficult than she first anticipated. "Um, where are you from?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, it's just… I thought it'd be nice to talk about stuff other than school."

"Yeah, how about we play the silent game?" Blake opened her mouth, but stopped her words before they could come out. She was starting to figure out that it was best not to talk to her so she remained silent until they arrived at the principal's office. Blake walked up next to the door and presented Yang to the principal's office.

"Well, here we are. Do you need anything else?"

"Well, since I'm already here, I don't think there's anything I can have." Blake started to laugh.

"Haha, good one." A couple of boys were walking through the hall and walked by the two girls.

"Hey, bookworm." The boy slapped Blake's book onto the ground and shoved her into the wall. Blake fell on her knees from the force of the push and impact from the wall. Yang tightened her fist and lunged toward the two boys. She jumped onto one of their backs and put him in a chokehold. The other one tried to pull Yang off of him, but she wasn't letting go.

"Get off of him!"

"Apologize to her!"

"What's it matter to you?!" She didn't answer. She just squeezed his neck even tighter. After a couple of seconds, the principal walked out.

"Hey, what is going on out here?!" Yang looked at him and immediately got off of the boys back. "

You two, get to class!"

"Sorry Mr. Ozpin." He pointed at Yang.

"You, come with me." She wiped off the dust from her clothes, grabbed her things and walked into his office. Meanwhile, Blake was still on the ground, fumbling for her book. She swiped her hands across the ground until she finally found her books. She grabbed them and stood up. She turned to face the principal's door and whispered to herself.

"Thank you."

Inside, Yang was forced to sit right in front to the principal's desk. His room was huge and everything in there seemed so grim and almost disturbing.

"Hello Yang, I'm the principal here. My name is Ozpin. Now, I understand that you are new here so I'm not going to be too hard on you this time, but we do not tolerate violence at this school."

"Oh come on, haven't you hear about what those boys have been doing to me? Didn't you see what they did to that poor girl?"

"Yes, I am completely aware of the situation, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you used violence to settle such things. You seem like a responsible girl Yang so I'll let you off with a warning and a little piece of advice. Try not to attract attention to yourself because the guys here can be pretty strange."

"Haha, guys are always strange and you don't have to worry about the low profile part. I got that on lockdown," she said as she leaned back in her chair and put her arms behind her head.

"Mmm, that remains to be seen."

"You'll see."

"Well, that is all. If you'd like, you are more than free to head home."

"Are you serious?! Sweet, thanks Ozpin." He knew that that was wrong, but he decided to let it slide this one time. Yang walked out of the principal's office and made her way to the exit of the school. However, she was intercepted by Blake once again.

"Hi Yang, how'd it go?"

"Eh, can't complain, but what about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Those guys always do that to me. I'm sort of used to it."

"Come on, you can't let those guys step all over you. You need to stand up for yourself." Blake chuckled half-assed.

"It's kind of difficult for me to that."

"Nothing's too difficult." Blake and Yang finally made it into the courtyard of the school where the two of them started to go their separate ways. "Jeez, it's bright out today. Well, I'm gonna head out. Thanks for showing me where the office was." She put on her shades and made her way home. On the other hand, Blake had her eyes wide open as she watched Yang leave campus. The light from the sun reflected off of Yang's beautiful blond hair and onto Blake's face. It didn't affect her though. She just smiled and returned to class.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 3

A Rough Encounter

The next day, Yang woke up the same time as before and got ready. This time, her grandmother took notice of Yang and stopped her before she left the house. She asked if Yang was enjoying the school. She didn't lie, but she didn't really tell the truth when Yang said that it was better than lying around at home doing nothing. Her grandmother nodded her head and allowed her to leave. Right as she reached for the door, she had a thought about saying bye to her, but quickly brushed away that thought. She opened the door and headed off to school.

After a couple of minutes, Yang made it to school. She still hadn't made any friends so no one was there to greet her. It didn't really bother her though. As she thought about her first day, she was actually glad that she didn't make a friend yet. Nearly everyone she met was a jerk, except that Blake girl and a couple of the other girls that didn't give her a bad look. In her head, Yang was thinking that she was pretty chill. As she walked through the campus, the bell rang and she lazily walked to class. She was the last one in, but still made it in on time. For Yang, this was the most boring part of her day, having to listen to the teacher talk on and on about stupid stuff she didn't care about. As she started to doze off, she noticed that the seat in the front of the class was empty. Wasn't that Blake's chair? There's no way what happened yesterday is causing her to miss class. Then suddenly, the door slid open and Blake came through.

"I'm really sorry about this. I was looking for something in my house, but apparently it got misplaced. I take full responsibility for my tardiness. It's inexcusable."

"It's alright Blake, just take a seat. We're about to begin." She bowed her head and walked to her desk. Before she sat down, she noticed that Yang was in class and waved to her. By now, Yang had her attention elsewhere and didn't notice Blake wave at her. Even though Yang had no idea she was waving to her, she still smiled and sat down in her chair.

Class went on and Yang just trailed away from anything educational. It grew so boring for her that she put her head on the table and fell asleep. It didn't take long for her teacher to take notice of her slacking off. She walked over to Yang's desk and smacked the back of Yang's head with a book.

"Wake up! This isn't nap time." From the front, Yang could hear Blake snicker to herself. She sat back up and attempted to look like she was paying attention even though she perfected the art of illusion. As the clock finally wound down to lunch, Yang quickly made her way out of the classroom. Since she didn't stay all day yesterday, she was beginning to realize how long school days actually were. She walked down the stairs to the cafeteria where she was disappointed. The food looked terrible and all the tables were occupied. The cafeteria was pretty small with nothing that attracted her attention. She sighed and made her way back to the classroom.

On her way back, she stopped at the switchback of the stairs to look out the window. The view wasn't much, but it felt good to see things that weren't a few feet away from her. She could see the school courtyard and the start of the center of town where she was stopped twice for stealing. She couldn't help but laugh at it. It was so embarrassing that she got caught, but didn't care about it anymore. She really did lose her touch at theft though. She turned back around to head upstairs when she saw a girl come flying at her from above. Yang caught her and fell to the ground with the girl on top of her. Yang closed her eyes to embrace the impact and when she opened her eyes, she saw that it was Blake.

"Blake? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just didn't pay attention to where I was walking." From above, Yang saw two boys laughing and pointing at Blake. She looked back at Blake who was still on top of her.

"Did those guys push you down the stairs?"

"I don't know, did they?" She looked at the two boys again, but with a much meaner look than before.

"Get up for a second." Blake climbed off of Yang and pulled her up onto her feet. Yang, then, ran up the stairs. "Hey, what's your problem?!" The two boys saw Yang run at them and they ran away as fast as they could. She made it to the top of the stairs and saw that they had already left. "Yeah, you better run." All that she could think was that those guys were cowards for not faing her. She turned around and walked back down the stairs to Blake. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, not to sound mean or anything, but you prevented me from getting hurt. I did kind of land right on top of you."

"Yeah, that did hurt a little bit," she said as she grabbed the back of her head.

"I think the real question here is: Are you alright?"

"I think so." Yang tried to walk off, but started to lose her balance. Luckily, Blake was there to catch her before she fell over.

"Um, I think I should take you to the nurse's office." Blake grabbed Yang's arm and hoisted it over her shoulder as the two of them walked her down the stairs slowly and to the nurse's office. There, Yang lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she turned her head to look at the clock. It said 3:00. Her eyes widened for she had been out for 3 hours. How the hell was I out for 3 hours?! She sat up and noticed that she had some tape wrapped around her head.

"What the..."

"Oh good, you're awake." She saw Blake sitting right next to her bed.

"Blake? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was worried about you. I mean, I did cause you to be like this."

"No, it's not your fault. I wasn't paying attention. I could have easily avoided this little injury."

"Well, the nurse said that when you wake up, you're free to leave."

"Is school already out?"

"Yeah, you want to me walk you home?"

"No, I'm fine," she said as she kicked her legs out from the blankets and onto the ground.

"No, please. I feel really bad about all this. It's the least I could do." Yang turned and looked at Blake who had on a really sincere face. Yang sighed and dropped her head. She had to give in to this girl's genuine request.

"Alright fine." Blake smiled and jumped up.

"Alright, let's go." In her head, Yang was thinking about if that was the answer Blake was planning for from the very beginning. Yang grabbed her things and walked out with Blake. As Blake walked with Yang, Yang started to notice Blake was acting a little weird. The way she walked was kind of odd and it kind of seemed like she didn't really know where she was going even though Blake apparently has lived in that town for a longer period of time than Yang has.

"Um Blake, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said hesitantly. "It's just that I've never been to this side of town before so this is all quite new to me." Yang was confused. The town was small enough to be able to visit all parts of it. For some reason, she was overthinking a little too much and quickly forgot about this little oddity.

"Oh well, we're almost there so it shouldn't be too long before you know where you're going."

After a couple of minutes, they finally arrived at Yang's house. She led her through the front lawn and to the front door. Blake took a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

"Wow, you have a beautiful house."

"Oh, it's not mine. I'm living with my grandmother for now."

"Really, why is that?" There was a long silence. "I'm sorry for asking. It's not my place to know." Blake lowered her head and back away a tad when suddenly, the door slid open.

"Who's there? I don't want any intruders on my lawn." Yang's grandmother barged out with a broomstick in hand.

"Grandma, what are you doing?! Jesus!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear your voice. I only heard this… This beautiful lady's voice, and what's your name deary?"

"Hi, I'm Blake. One of Yang's friends." Yang looked at Blake for that comment was odd to her. Apparently, Blake thought of them as friends. To Yang, they weren't quite there yet, but she decided to let it slide. These kind of things weren't something she wanted to worry about.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Blake, I'm Yang's grandmother. You can just call me Grams," she said as she stuck out her hand. However, Blake didn't shake her hand. She just stood there and smiled at Yang's grandmother. Grams pulled her hand away awkwardly. "Well, you're welcome here anytime Blake."

"Thank you... Grams?" It felt awkward for her, but that's what she was told to call her. Yang turned to face Blake.

"Well, thanks for walking me home. You didn't really have to though."

"Ah, don't worry about it. It was fun, walking to new places and meeting new people." Yang smiled.

"Is your home far from here?"

"Eh, I mean it's the opposite direction from here."

"Are you okay to walk by yourself?"

"Of course, I do it all the time."

"Alright, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye." Yang walked into her house and shut the door. Blake made her way off of their front lawn where she started to feel the day's light fade away. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a red and white cane as she walked home alone.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 4

An Interesting Discovery

The day started out like normal for Yang. She got ready and quickly made her way to school. As this became a recurring thing, her grandmother started to believe that Yang was enjoying it here. However, she didn't want to get in her way so she always gave Yang a friendly bye when she left for school and did nothing else. She knew it was best to give a teenage girl space. Seeing her the house every day to go to school put a smile on her grandmother's face. However, when she left, she pressed her hand against her chest. It's nothing.

Yang made it to school and saw the same thing she saw every day. Nothing. Kids were hanging out, walking around, and having a good time. She walked onto campus and made her way to class. When she did, she found that she was always getting to class really early. In her head, she told herself that she wasn't doing in on purpose, but it just became a natural thing. The bell rang and everyone started to file into the classroom. Like the days before, the seat in the front was empty as class started. By now, Yang knew that she was going to be late. She didn't know why this was such a recurring thing. She just accepted the fact Blake was a busy girl and has other things to do.

As the class started its daily news, Yang started to doze off. She never knew that something that happens every day could be so boring. School itself was bad enough, but having to listen to things that don't matter to her really made it hard to stay awake. As the daily news came to an end, the door opened and Blake walked through with something behind her back.

"I'm sorry for being late. I had something to bring and it was nearly impossible to find it."

"It's fine. Just take a seat." Blake walked through the aisles of chairs to the back of the room where she dropped the stick-looking thing in the closet. As she walked by, Yang didn't say hi, but Blake did acknowledge her by touching her shoulder.

Once Blake took her seat, the class resumed and Yang returned to her normal dozing off in class. The day went on without end and Yang didn't listen to a single thing that was said all day. After it all finished, the day was over, but before her teacher dismissed the class, she reminded the class about the fall dance. For some reason, this caught Yang's attention. Of all the things said these past few days; that was the one thing she remembered. She didn't know why. Once that was over, their teacher dismissed the class and everyone headed out. However, Blake dashed to the back of the room, grabbed her things, and left without a word.

As Yang watched her leave class, she was curious. What was she carrying? Why did she seem so urgent? Should I follow her? This might be worth seeing. Yang looked at the time and saw that it was still early. She then looked in her back pack and told herself that she wasn't even doing any homework so she decided to follow Blake.

Although Yang decided to follow Blake, Blake left much faster than Yang so it took her some time to find her. Yang searched through the academic building, but didn't find any trace of Blake. Next, she looked at the athletic fields, but she wasn't there either. The last place she could check was the club building. For Yang, this was the first she's ever been to that building because she had no intention of joining a club and she didn't even know that it was for that purpose. She opened the door and was immediately surprised. The door swung open to an open hall where there were doors all around the place with each door having a plaque that stated what club it was for. She looked around and knew that it was too much to try and find her so she turned around and headed out when she heard distant yells and odd sounds. She turned back around and followed the sound.

When she finally narrowed down where the sound was coming from, she found that it was the kendo club. Yang peeked her head through the small glass window on the door and saw people fighting with wooden swords. This caught her attention so she opened the door and silently walked in to watch what was going on. She took a seat in the far corner and tried not to make a scene.

"Alright, everyone clear the floor. The match of the day is next." The floor cleared and one person walked onto the mat. It was Blake. She was dressed in traditional kendo clothing and stood in the middle of the mat. The instructor walked next to Blake and whispered to her, "Are you ready? If you do this, you'll represent our school in the championships." She nodded her head and he made his way off the mat. Once he was clear, she brought up her sword and readied herself as she was preparing for real battle.

"I wonder what he said to her," Yang said softly to herself. Then suddenly, a dozen other members of the club surrounded Blake with swords at the ready. What?! She was going to fight all of them?! Yang's mind was befuddled. She didn't think it was possible to fight 12 other people at the same time, but Blake was going to do it. She leaned in with a smile on her face. This is either gonna end up really good or really bad.

"Fighters ready?!" They all yelled out and the instructor swung his hand down. "Begin!"

The fight began, but no one moved. The 12 others simply walked around Blake at a slow pace. Blake, on the other hand, didn't move. She calmed herself and listened. Their feet rubbing against the mat, their scent changing location; she knew where they were and she knew when they'd attack.

"Ha!" 3 members yelled and ran at Blake from behind. She quickly turned around and blocked the first man's attack. She then felt that another one would attack immediately after. She pushed the sword out of the way and ducked. The man lost balance and another one jumped out from behind. Blake gripped her sword and lunged at the man with incredible speed. She nailed in the gut and he fell to the floor. 11 more to go.

The last man of that group came charging at Blake. He swung at her head and she deflected it. He quickly spun around and aimed for her legs. She jumped up and nailed him across the head, sending his body flying. She finally returned to the ground to meet the last one's sword right at her chest. This time, she attacked. One swing to the legs, another at the head, and then two more at his gut. He managed to deflect them all. When Blake fell back to regroup herself, he lunged forward and swung straight down at her. She saw this attack and rolled right past him and struck him right on the back, causing him to fall to the floor. 9 more to go.

5 more men charged at her from all different directions. The man on her right swung his sword and she deflected it. Immediately after, the one from the left did the same thing with the same results. From behind, Blake felt that her attacked would swing high so she ducked and the sword struck another one of her opponents, sending him to the ground. She heard the loud crash of another body fall to the ground from her low angle and continued to attack. She aimed for the man on her right and struck his ankles and then nailed him in the gut. Once they were down, the other 3 came from behind. She stood back up and ran towards them. The closest one to her was yelling out loud and Blake quickly silenced him by dodging his swing and hitting him from behind. The last two decided to join forces. They attacked at the same time and Blake blocked each shot. Their speed was much faster than her previous enemies so she had to separate them. She kicked one of them back and focused on the other. He swung at her head and she deflected it. They held this stance as he tried to push Blake back. As this continued, Blake saw the other one running for her. She grabbed her pursuer's wrist and put his body in front of the other enemy, causing him to strike his companion. The man was surprised and pulled his sword away. Now, Blake pushed his body at the other and struck both of them while they were discombobulated. 4 more to go.

2 more men joined the fray, but they had different auras. They entered with caution and patience. Blake put up her sword and listened. They walked in opposite directions, ending up on both sides of her. They still didn't have the intention of attacking. In this situation, Blake knew it would be stupid to attack so she waited. The room was motionless for a few seconds until her attackers finally made their move.

One swung at her head and she ducked. Right after, the other swung at her feet and Blake jumped right in between their two strikes, managing to hit them both in the arms. They didn't fall from her strikes so she maintained her focus. They charged again and Blake put her sword on her hip. She waited for their attack, but felt that they were distant from each other. She smiled and readied her attack. The man brought his sword up to his head and swung at a diagonal angle to the right of her head. She slightly moved out of the way and swung her sword into his gut. The force of her strike caused him to be still for a second and then he fell to the floor. The other man wasted no time. He charged up his attack and ran at Blake. She decided to take the same approach. As he grew near, he yelled and brought his sword down. This time, Blake swung her sword right as his and it broke on contact. The man gasped as he watched his sword broke into pieces. Blake used this to her advantage and quickly brought him to the ground. 2 more to go.

She stood up and readied herself for the final battle. The odd thing was that she felt that they weren't moving. They remained to the edge of the mat. After a couple of seconds, Blake heard clapping out of nowhere.

"Very good. Outstanding." She turned in confusion.

"What do you mean? I still have two left."

"It's fine. I think we all know what the result of that fight would be. Everyone in the kendo club is on the same level, except for you so the results would be the same." The men from the fight all moaned out in pain as they were on the ground. "They know, wouldn't you agree?" Blake smiled and bowed to her instructor.

"Thank you, sensei."

"Don't thank me. That was all you." She lifted her head up and smiled. Meanwhile, Yang was astounded. She couldn't believe what she had just saw. Blake took down 10 people all by herself, 12 if she counted their inevitable defeat. What an incredible girl, she thought. She stood up and quietly made her way to the door. As Blake was talking with her instructor, she heard someone leaving the stands.

"Yang?" Yang stopped dead in her tracks. "Is that you?"

"No."

"Of course it's you. I'd recognize your voice anywhere." Yang sighed and turned around to face Blake.

"Alright, you caught me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Um, well, I didn't have anything else to do today so I decided to wander the campus and I ended up here. What you did, um... That was impressive." Blake blushed and brushed her hair out of the way.

"Oh, thanks. It was nothing really. I've been doing kendo ever since I was little." Her instructor came up from behind her and put his arm around Blake.

"And she's been our prized possession ever since she started attending this school. Hello, I'm the kendo teacher here. Feel free to call me sensei."

"Hi, I'm Yang," she said as shook his hand.

"So you interested in joining the kendo club?"

"No, no, no. I don't think I qualify after watching that. Getting my butt kick isn't something I enjoy."

"Anyone's welcome to join."

"Haha, I'm fine. Thank you though. I was just heading home."

"Oh, can I walk home with you? I just finished actually," Blake said as she looked up at her instructor's face. He sighed and agreed with her. "Please?" Yang sighed.

"Alright, you can walk with me." Blake's face lit up and ran to grab her things. The two girls made their way to the exit.

"Bye sensei, I'll see you next week."

"Alright, have fun." They walked out and headed home.

On the way there, Yang didn't know what to say. She didn't feel words were appropriate for what Blake was able to do. She just kept her head down and walked alongside Blake.

"So how was it?"

"Huh? How was what?"

"The match. Did you enjoy it?"

"Oh yeah, that was, um... Incredible. It's kind of hard to find the right words for that question."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that I've never seen anybody do that. I mean, 1 vs. 12. That's… You're insane."

"Thanks," Blake said with a smile. "So are we heading to your house?" Yang looked to the sky and saw that it was getting dark.

"Um, how about I walk you home this time? I kind of feel bad for making you walk home alone at night the last time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing else to do tonight."

"Okay then, it's this way." Blake guided Yang to her house. When they got there, Yang was impressed. Her house was pretty modern and it seemed big from the outside. Blake opened up the front door and walked in. "You wanna come in?"

"Uh, I'm fine. I don't want to bother your family."

"It's okay, my family's..."

"I'm just gonna go. See you later." Yang walked off without saying another word and without looking back. Blake tried to call her back, but she kept on walking.

"Bye." She turned on the lights and closed the door.

Not far away, Yang quickly ran behind a tree. Her heart was beating fast and her legs were losing their strength. She put her hands over her chest to try and calm herself. Before not too long, her legs gave out and she dropped onto her butt. What is this feeling?

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 5

An Interesting Request

The rest of her first week was pretty boring, but Yang was finally ready for the weekend. She was ready to stay in bed and do absolutely nothing. It was 10am, Saturday morning and Yang was still sleeping when a knock came from the front door.

"Yang! Someone's here to see you!" Her eyes slowly cracked open for she couldn't believe what was happening. It was early Saturday morning and she was being forced to wake up. Who would even want to see her during the weekend? "Yang! Get down here!"

"Ugh! Alright, I'm coming." She rolled out of bed and plopped onto the ground. Once she got on her feet, she slowly made her way downstairs. When she got the front door, her grandmother teased her about being a princess and how she looked so attractive. All Yang could do was groan and rub her eyes at the bad joke.

"Um Yang..." Yang ignored her grandmother and walked to the door.

"Ugh, who is it?"

"Um Yang, it's me Blake. Did I come at a bad time?"

"No, I've been awake for hours, can't you tell?" She yawned very obnoxiously and rubbed her eyes even more.

"Well anyway, I, um, I came to ask you something. I know we just met and all and we don't know each other very well. Even though that's true, I feel that we're close anyway. I know it doesn't make sense we haven't hung out a lot, but..." Yang scratched her head.

"What was it you were going to ask me?" Blake stopped mid-sentence and blushed.

"Oh right, I wanted to know... Will you come watch my kendo tournament tomorrow," she asked as she bowed her head. Yang was caught off guard. This was an interesting request that finally woke her up from her trance.

"Um, I don't know. I'd have to check my schedule."

"Please, I know crowds in kendo don't really matter, but it really means a lot to know that someone in the stands is cheering for you. That and plus, my family won't be able to make it tomorrow." Her head was still down. By the way Yang carried her body, it seemed like she was going to say no, but her grandmother nudged her which caused her to change her mind. She looked at her grandmother and she was giving Yang a suspicious look.

"Actually, I'll be able to go." Blake raised her head and had a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"So where's this going to be?"

"It's going to be at the convention center at the nearby city. There'll be a bus that'll take people from our town to the event. Meet by in the front of town hall at 12 tomorrow."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Okay, thank you. Bye."

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you though." Blake waved her arm as she left the house. Yang waved back and closed the door.

"So I guess you have plans tomorrow?"

"Don't give me that look. You're the one who pretty much forced me to go."

"What? I did no such thing." Yang rolled her eyes. "I'm just surprised she was able to talk to you so seriously for that long."

"Why is that," Yang asked as she stretched out her arms.

"Have you looked in the mirror yet?" Yang looked down and saw that she was only wearing her underwear. Her face quickly turned bright red.

"Aaaaahhhhhh! Why didn't you warn me?!" She covered herself with her hands and quickly ran upstairs. Her grandmother chuckled as she watched Yang struggle to get upstairs unseen.

"I tried to warn you, but you were too concerned with the door and too tired to care."

"That's because you screamed for me to get down there as quick as possible," she yelled from inside her room. Her grandmother smiled as she walked into the kitchen. After a few minutes, Yang finally came back downstairs with actual clothes on. She trudged through the kitchen and sat down at the table. "So what's for breakfast?"

"Omelets. I hope you like them." Yang didn't hesitate and quickly dug into her food. At first bite, her eyes widened and her mouth slowly dropped to the floor. This was amazing. I want more. She filled her fork with as much omelet as she could and stuffed it in her mouth. When she looked up, she saw her grandmother staring at her. "Is it good?" Yang had food all over her mouth and she felt like a savage. She swallowed and cleaned her mouth slowly.

"It's alright." Yang finished up her food and made her way back upstairs. The simple subtleties that Yang was giving off indicated to her grandmother that she was actually enjoying it here. She just couldn't bring herself to say it out loud so she continued to act the way she has been.

Back in her room, she went into her closet and pulled out everything she could. All kind of shirts and other things piled on top of her bed and she stood there, staring at the pile of clothes. What should I wear? What's appropriate for a kendo tournament? She picked up some clothes and put them against her body as she checked herself in the mirror. Nothing worked for her so she threw them on the ground in frustration.

"Why don't I have anything good to wear?" Then suddenly, a thought came to her head. Why am I troubling myself with my appearance? It's not like I'm going out on a date or something. I'm just accompanying a "friend" to a tournament to watch her fight. That's it. She grabbed all of her clothes and put them back inside her closet. Once it was all organized, she pulled out a white tank top, plaid shirt, and a pair short shorts where she laid them out on her chair. "Perfect. Now, I'm ready."

Then again, a thought came to her mind. Why am I so anxious for this? I'm treating this like the first day of kindergarten or something. Grow up Yang. She grabbed the clothes from the chair and threw them back inside her closet. However, they somehow were perfectly laid out on top of all her other clothes. She smiled and shut the door.

Meanwhile at Blake's house, she was also preparing for the tournament. She packed her kendo equipment and an extra pair of clothes. Once that was all done, she put her stuff at the front door and walked back to her room. When she got back, she plopped onto her bed and stared straight at the ceiling.

"I've worked so hard and now, the time is finally here. I'm going to fight to win. I promise I'll win for you: Mom and Dad." She closed her eyes and a tear fell from her eye. She slowly wiped it off of her face and opened her eyes again. "Please notice me, Yang," she said as her hands fell on top of her chest.

After a few minutes, she sat back up and noticed that the sun was finally gone and felt the coolness of the moon fill the house. She walked out to check and make sure she had everything ready. As she rummaged through her things, she noticed that her walking stick wasn't in the bags. She reached into the corner, next to the front door and grabbed it from its holder. When she had it in her hands, she was contemplating on bringing it with her. She was going to a completely new place where she would definitely need it. On the other hand, she was going with Yang so she could let Yang guide her. But wait, Yang doesn't know her little secret. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to bring it, but she didn't want to have to rely on Yang to get around the place when they're there. She sighed and crumpled the stick into its carrying mode and shoved it into one of her bags.

"I hope I don't have to use it, for Yang's sake."

Back at Yang's house, she was inside the living room watching some TV. She was trying to get the image of her going with someone else somewhere she didn't really know. She occasionally had images of her and Blake holding hands and enjoying each other's company which caused her to shake her and slam her face into a pillow. Why was she thinking about stuff like that? She just met her and she doesn't even know much about her. So why am I like this? She slapped her face and tried to focus on what she was watching. As she continued to think, she felt her heart start to race and she pressed her fist into her chest to try and stop this sensation from intensifying.

"Are you okay?" Yang looked back to see her grandmother make her way into the living room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"I don't know. You seem kind of on-edge."

"Really? I'm not trying to be."

"Is this something you want to share with me?" Her grandmother took a seat right next to Yang and Yang saw that her grandmother was all ears. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She then closed her mouth and sighed.

"It's nothing."

"You know Yang, I know it's hard, having to live somewhere where you're not comfortable with. It takes a toll on your character to the point where you don't know what to do with yourself. However, I see that you're trying and it really makes me happy. I'm sorry that there's nothing to do here, but I think it'll really benefit you somehow in the long run. Personally, I already see that you've changed. It's slight, but it's definitely there."

"Thanks grandma. To tell you the truth, I actually feel more at home here than I have at any other place."

"Oh, well that's good to hear."

"Yeah, I don't know why. It just does." Her grandmother smiled and got up.

"If there's anything you need to talk about, I'm always here to listen."

"Alright."

"Okay, I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Night." Her grandmother shut the door to the living room and went to bed. Yang, however, decided to stay awake a little longer. She purposelessly surfed through the channels to try and find something to fall asleep to. Unfortunately, nothing was good. It was all news and boring documentaries about stupid things that shouldn't exist. Her eyes started to become heavy. She dropped the remote control on the ground and it switched to another channel that was playing some romance movie. Somehow, this caught Yang's attention and she opened her eyes to try and watch the show.

"Don't let go Jack."

"It's... It's really cold." The girl started to cry.

"You can't leave me."

"I'm sorry. I love you." His hand lost grip of hers and he slowly sunk into the sea. The girl screamed out and from behind her, there shined a light. It was a life boat. They grabbed her from her precarious floating device and left. As they floated away, she stuck out her arm and screamed for the man in the ocean.

"Jack!"

Then, the screen faded to credits. Yang was silent for those few minutes of film and when she regained her consciousness, she noticed a few tears were falling from her eyes. She quickly wiped them off.

"Wow, you have got to be kidding me. I hate romance movies." She turned off the TV and went upstairs to head off to bed. Before she fell asleep, the feeling in her chest reappeared and she pressed against it with her fists. "What are you trying to tell me?"

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 6

An Interesting Outcome

The night was a rather sleepless one. Blake and Yang both had a hard time falling asleep, but in the end, they were able to get through it. Blake had set her alarm for 10am and woke up promptly. She got ready, grabbed her things, and headed for town hall.

On the other hand, Yang was deep in sleep when the light from the sun finally hit her face. She opened her eyes slowly and saw that it was 11:30am. She tried to jump out of bed, but the blankets restricted her body. She crashed onto the ground and she threw off the blankets to get ready. Once she was ready and slid down the staircase and was out the door.

"See you later Grams!" Her grandmother waved goodbye and checked the clock. It was 11:50am.

Yang ran as fast as she could until she reached town hall. When she saw it in sight, she saw the bus loading its passengers. She stuck out her arm and yelled at it to wait for her. Right as she did, Blake heard Yang's voice and stopped mid-board and waited for her. Yang was running so fast that she nearly tackled Blake to the ground. Once she came to a stop, she bent over onto her knees and was blowing a gut out.

"I... I made it." Blake chuckled.

"You scared me. At first, I thought you weren't gonna make it."

"Haha, me too," she said with a nervous look on her face.

"Well, come on. Let's get a good seat." Blake and Yang made their way onto the bus where they were able to find two seats in the back of the bus. Blake decided to let Yang take the window seat out of consideration and Yang didn't hesitate for a second. They all took their seats and departed for the city convention center.

On the drive there, Yang constantly looked out the window for everything she saw was completely new to her. As they entered the city, she saw tall buildings and huge bridges that covered the entire city. It was like she was in a whole new world.

"Wow, Blake look at this. It's incredible, huh?" Blake leaned over to look out the window. She tried her best to whip out a smile for Yang.

"Yeah, it's beautiful." She slunk back into her chair and remained silent for the rest of the bus ride.

When they arrived, everyone got off and grabbed their things. Immediately outside of the bus was a sign that told them where to go for the kendo tournament. Blake stayed close to Yang so she wouldn't get lost. As they were walking, Blake was getting bumped by a lot of other people passing by. She kept Yang at a fair distance, but as they kept on walking, the opposing crowd started to separate the two and Blake was eventually knocked to the ground. She sat there with tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"Yang!" She closed her eyes and covered her ears. She didn't know where she was. After a couple of seconds, she heard a familiar voice. She opened her eyes and felt Yang's presence right in front of her.

"I guess you're not much of a big city person." She wiped her eyes and gave a little laugh.

"Sorry, I'm not. I've always been in small towns."

"It's okay. Here, we'll walk together." Yang stuck out her hand and grabbed Blake's. She pulled her off the ground and continued to walk with her.

As they walked through the city, Blake began to blush. She was holding hands with Yang. She never realized how warm her hands were. Whenever Yang looked at Blake to make sure she was alright, Blake looked timid and scared. However, while they were walking, Yang started to feel nervous herself. She was holding hands with Blake. It seemed as if she was losing strength in her legs. This feeling of being close to someone she didn't know made her weak at the knees.

After a couple of minutes, the girls stopped for they had made it to the convention center. From the outside, it was huge, but when they walked in, they were surprised that it felt even bigger than how it looked. Even Blake could feel the size of the building. All around the place were signs indicating the kendo tournament and where to sign-in. Yang guided Blake through the hoard of people to the sign-in booth. Once that was finished, they went to the locker room where Blake got ready. When she came out, Yang was somewhat flustered. For some reason, Blake looked really good in her kendo outfit. Yang shied away as Blake walked up to her.

"Does it look okay?"

"You... You look great."

"Awesome, let's go."

They walked into the main atrium where endless mats were placed on the floor and countless people were practicing before the tournament started. Blake and Yang walked around the outside of the mats to find a good place to keep their stuff. Once they settled down, Blake took out her equipment and warmed up. Yang, on the other hand, watched some of the people practicing and grew a little scared. She saw all sorts of guys. Some were huge, some were fast; she was worried that Blake wasn't cut out for this. Yang was only able to find one other girl and she was pretty small.

"Are you okay Yang," she asked she was stretching.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I never realized how intense these things can be."

"Yep, they can get pretty hyped." An alarm sounded and an announcement played over the PA.

"Welcome warriors. Are you ready to battle?" Everyone screamed and the room shook. Yang held onto her chair for it was that crazy. "We have the pools posted in the entrance hall. There are 8 pools with 32 entrees in each pool. The top 4 from each pool will enter bracket play where the champion will be crowned. Be sure to check the lineup and schedules because we are about to get underway." The room exploded once again.

"You want me to go check when and where you're fighting?"

"Yes please." Yang got up and walked to the entrance hall. The board that had the lineups and schedules was huge. It took her a while to find Blake's name, but after a few seconds of thoroughly searching, she eventually found it. She was in pool C and her opponent was a guy named Russell Thrush. Her match time was 2:15pm and it was 1:45pm. She walked back to collect Blake and told her where she was stationed for the day.

When they made it to the pool C area, they saw her opponent preparing for the match. He was a rather small fellow. He didn't look too scary to Yang. Her match was about to begin, but Yang pulled her over for a second.

"Hey Blake, I think you got this. This guy looks like a pushover." Blake laughed.

"You can't always judge others by their appearance, Yang, but I'll keep that in mind." She walked onto the mat with her sword in hand where she met her opponent and the referee overseeing the duel.

"Alright, welcome you two. Let's have a good fight. Now, as you know, there are a lot of people here today so pool duels will be a single strike victory so be sure to fight smart. Bow your heads and we'll begin." They bowed their heads to each other and walked to opposite ends of the mat where they prepared to fight.

As they finally reached their starting position, Blake took a deep breath and cleared her mind of everything except for her opponent. The world went silent except for the noises of her opponent. As she stood there motionless, she felt his heartbeat and knew exactly what his intentions would be.

"Warriors ready?" They both brought their swords up and nodded their heads. "Fight!" Russell made the first move. He started to run at Blake with everything he had. Blake smiled for she had numerous options for this situation, but she decided to make it simple. He swung at her head which made her roll out of the way of his strike and landed behind him where she nailed him across the back. "Winner! Blake Belladonna!" Yang was speechless. Even though it was a simple one-on-one match, she moved so quickly and it almost seemed like she knew what her opponent was going to do. Blake walked over to Yang once she was done with her match.

"Wow, you're really good."

"What? That was just one match. How can you tell from that?"

"I just know. So what's the plan now?"

"I have another match in 15 minutes, but if I win that, I'll be guaranteed a spot in the bracket play."

"Nice. I know you'll be able to do it." Blake smiled.

"Thanks Yang."

The time passed and it was time for her second match. This time, her opponent was a large looking man with nothing but death on his face. As Yang watched the two prepare to fight, she was biting her nails. How was she suppose to beat someone like that? He was like 10 times the size of Blake. However, when the match started, Blake quickly ran towards her opponent and struck him with a major blow before he could even retaliate. Yang's jaw was on the ground. She didn't even see what had happened during that match, it was so fast.

Now, Blake was guaranteed a spot in bracket play. All that was left to do was decide the top 4 spots in each pool. Blake's first ranked duel was an easy one. Her opponent was able to deliver some attacks, but none of them actually hit her. Now, she was fighting for the #1 spot in her pool.

When the other match was decided, Yang noticed that Blake would be fighting a girl. She was small looking girl with white hair and had a really mean look to her. Thinking about what Blake said, she tried not to have any first thoughts about how she might be as a duelist. They called the two girls onto the mat for the deciding match.

"State your names."

"Blake Belladonna."

"Weiss Schnee."

"Alright ladies, this match is for the #1 and #2 spot so make sure to give it your all. You ready?" They nodded and bowed to each other. "Head to your respective sides and we'll get started." They turned and walked to their sides. As Blake walked to hers, Yang gave her a thumbs up, but Blake was paying attention to her. She simply closed her eyes and silenced the world.

"Ready... Fight!" The match had begun, but no one moved. Even Blake was surprised that her opponent hadn't made a move yet so she decided to make the first move. She took a step forward and felt that her opponent had done the same thing. Blake took a second to assess the situation and then took another step forward. So did her opponent. By now, Blake was starting to get her strategy. She took another step and so did her opponent. At this point in the match, they were a few feet apart from each other. In her head, Blake knew what would happen if she took another step forward so she did anyway. When she did, she felt her enemy lunge towards her and aim for her head. Blake sneakily dodged her attack and nailed her right in the gut. "Winner! Blake Belladonna!" From her seat, Yang gave a little fist pump as Blake walked back to her.

"How was that?"

"Incredible. There aren't really any words for it." Up above, they showed a screen with all of the remaining top 4 contenders and to Yang, all of them looked pretty scary.

"Woo! What an amazing day of dueling. As you can see, these are our remaining contenders. Next week, we will hold the finale of this incredible showdown so remember to show up. Congratulations to those who remain and we thank everyone for showing up to this fine event. We'll see you all next week!"

"Huh?!" Yang looked at the time. It was 11:00pm "What? Already?!"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that time really flew today."

"Yeah it did. Well, we should head back to the bus. We don't want to miss our ride home."

"Smart." Yang grabbed Blake's things and started to walk out when she noticed some random guy giving Blake a real dirty look. He maintained his glare until they left the atrium. She looked at him with a dirty look, but he didn't acknowledge her. All of his attention was on Blake. After that weird moment, the two of them finally made it onto the bus where they were able to sit with each other.

Even though the ride back was only like an hour, Blake ended up falling asleep on Yang's shoulder. As her head fell onto Yang, Yang looked at Blake who had such a peaceful look as she was sleeping. Yang rubbed Blake's head as she continued to sleep.

"Good job today." She smiled at Blake and then looked back out the window.

As time passed, the bus finally made it back to the town where Yang woke up Blake. They got off the bus and Yang handed Blake her things. She looked at the time for it was 12:00am.

"Jeez, it's late. You want me to walk you home?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yang, you've done so much for me today. Go home and get some rest. You'll need it for next week," she said with a smile.

"Haha, alright. I'll see you at school then." Yang left Blake and headed home. As she continued to walk, that feeling in her chest returned, but this time, it didn't feel so bad. It was almost like a soothing feeling.

As Blake walked home, she heard faint footsteps behind her. She didn't know who it was so she increased her speed. Once she did so, the footsteps she heard did the same. Now, she decided to run, but when she did, she ran into someone she didn't expect to be there.

"Why hello there, pretty lady. It's a little late to walking around by yourself, isn't it?" Blake didn't respond. She just tried to past him, but he stood in her way. "What? You don't want to talk?" She turned around and headed back the other direction, but was immediately cut off by some other guys. "Come on, let's chat some, yeah?" They started to surround Blake and lead her into an alleyway. She pressed herself against a wall and noticed that there were 3 guys surrounding her. Their distances from each other were quite large so she decided to make a run for it. Unfortunately, two of the guys caught her before she could get away and pinned her to the wall. "Aw, what's the matter sweetheart? You don't wanna play with us?" She squirmed around and around, trying to get away, but it was no good. "Hold her down!"

The two guys brought her to the ground and held her shoulder and legs. Now, she couldn't escape. As she struggled to get free, she heard him unzip his pants.

"Dude, hurry up."

"I know." Blake knew what was happening, but she couldn't escape. She was outnumbered 3-on-1 with no one around to help her.

"You're gonna enjoy this, sweetheart." He grabbed her legs and pulled off her pants and underwear. She was running out of options and time. "It's time to play with daddy." Tears were falling from her face as it was over.

"Nnnnooooooooo!"

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 7

Her Safeguard

"Nnnnnooooooo!" Her main pursuer had his eyes on the prize when he was suddenly tackled and knocked away by a random person. The other two guys were in shock. So random person found where they were and was beating him up. The random person stood up with the guys hair gripped within their hand.

"Run, Blake!"

"Yang," she asked softly.

"I don't think so." The guy she had control of punched her in the gut and picked her off of him. "This one isn't getting away from us that easily. Hold her down." Blake tried to escape, but the two guys were able to grab her and hold her down. "But since you're here," he whipped out a pocket knife, "let's have some fun."

"You're not touching her, she said with such serious eyes.

"You gonna stop me?" Yang tightened her fists and ran at the guy. He lunged his knife at her, missing her entirely. Yang dodged his strike and landed a blow right across his face and sent him to the ground. Yang walked towards him, but he was quick and cut her on her right arm. Yang jumped back and covered her wound. She looked down at her arm and that back at her enemy. His face was filled with death, towards her and joy towards Blake. She couldn't let that happen. She dropped her hand and ran at him again.

This time, he swung for her head, but Yang was ready. She grabbed his hand out of the air and punched across the face. However, she didn't let go of his hand. He dropped to his knees and Yang kneed him square in the face. This blow caused him to drop his head. Yang then walked around him while bringing his arm around as well and snapped his arm in half.

"Aaaahhhhhh!" Yang grabbed him off the ground and tossed him into a wall of the alleyway. Yang then turned around and faced the other two guys.

"Get your filthy hands off of her." They shoved Blake to the ground and pulled out pocket knives. This, however, didn't bother her. She was determined to protect Blake at all costs. The two guys ran at her and she did the same. One guy swung at her and she ducked. The other tried to stab her, but she grabbed his hand out of the air. With this in her control, she used it to her advantage. The other swung again and Yang used his arm as a shield. His swing cut the guy in the arm and he screamed and dropped his knife. She then pushed his body at the other and they were knocked to the ground.

After a few seconds, they got back up and pursued Yang. First was the guy with the knife who Yang kicked out of the way. Unfortunately, the other guy immediately came in with a kick to her gut and she fell to the floor. Then came the other guy. He kicked across the face which sent her flying into a dumpster.

"Yang!"

"Shut up." The guy with the knife turned around and headed towards Blake. Yang brought her head up and saw that he was walking towards. She quickly got up and ran towards him. The guy without the knife blocked her path, but she threw him out of the way. As he neared Blake, he brought his knife up in the air to strike directly down on top of her, but Yang came from behind and tackled him, causing the knife to fall out of his hands.

With her on top of him, she bashed his head into the ground until he stopped struggling. Once he was finished, she turned back around to see the guy she tackled make a run for it. She didn't bother chasing him. She simply walked back to the guy with the broken arm. She grabbed his hair and brought him up to her face where she decked him in the nose. After that, she kicked him in the nuts and he fell back to the ground. As he laid there, Yang constantly kicked him in the gut and watched him suffer.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You made the wrong choice buddy, attacking my friend." Blake gasped. Yang called her a friend. A tear fell from her eye.

"Yang, please stop!" Yang tried to kick him once more, but stopped at the sound of Blake's voice. She turned around to see Blake on the ground. She quickly walked over to her and fell on her knees. "Yang, are you okay?"

"Let's get out of here," she said as she struggled to return to her feet. Blake cuddled into Yang's body as Yang carried her back to her house. When she got there, the lights were off and it seemed that no one was home. Blake simply told her that the door was open and that she could walk in.

"My room is down the hall on the left." Yang walked through the house and into Blake's room where she laid Blake down softly on her bed. She pulled the blankets over Blake's body and felt her head. She was extremely cold. Yang quickly got up and ran to get Blake a hot towel. After a few minutes, Yang had returned with the hot towel and put on Blake's forehead. "W-Where'd you go? I was so scared. I thought you left me alone."

"It's okay Blake. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Blake turned her head. When she did, the smell of blood filled the room was Yang was wounded pretty badly.

"Oh my God Yang, your arm," she said as she reached for her wound. Yang grabbed Blake's hand and put it back onto the bed.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Yang?"

"Yeah Blake."

"How did you find me?" Yang put her hand over Blake's forehead to see if she was getting any better.

"I couldn't leave you alone. I... I was worried about you." Blake's eyes widened.

"Thank you… so much." Yang smiled.

"It's gonna be alright Blake. No one's gonna hurt you anymore. Just get some rest." Yang grabbed Blake's towel and got up. Blake quickly grabbed Yang's wrist.

"Don't leave me." Yang put her hand over Blake's.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. Just get some sleep." Yang gently laid Blake's hand on top of her body.

"Good night." Yang smiled.

"Good night." Blake closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Once she was out, Yang walked to the kitchen to reheat the towel. She walked back into Blake's room and put it over her forehead. As she watched Blake sleep, that common sense of peace that everybody has when they sleep wasn't present. Blake looked worrisome and uncomfortable as she laid there in her sleep. Yang left to find a bathroom where she checked herself in the mirror. Her arm was slowly dripping blood and her face had a really bad bruise on it. When she raised her hand to touch it, her stomach felt an ache. She lifted up her shirt to see a huge purple mark on her side. She sighed and pulled her shirt back down. She grabbed a towel and pressed it against her wound as she sat on the toilet.

What the hell just happened? Why did that happen? What would have happened if I wasn't concerned about Blake's safety? Ah, don't think like that Yang. I was meant to save her. That's all that matters. Enough thinking about it. You need to worry about yourself too.

After a couple of minutes, she removed the towel from her arm. The towel was covered in blood, but her wound was slowly starting to heal. She grabbed the shower head and washed it off with hot water before returning to Blake's room. Since the wound was still open, the water stung a little bit, but she got through it. After that, she left the bathroom and returned to Blake's room where she pulled up a chair next to Blake's bed and watched her sleep until she finally fell asleep.

In the morning, Blake was the first to wake. She slowly opened her eyes to see Yang sleeping beside her with Yang's hand on top of hers. She couldn't help but smile. She stayed with her all night and didn't even sleep on a bed. Blake brushed Yang's hair and she slowly woke up as well.

"Good morning Yang." She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes.

"Uh, good morning. Are you okay?"

"I think so."

"Good, I'm glad. I was so worried."

"It's okay. I'm fine." All of sudden, the doorbell rang and Blake cowered into the corner of her bed with her blankets over her entire body.

"Blake, what happened?" She didn't respond. She was quivering as the doorbell rang again. Yang stood up and started to walk out of her room.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna check who's at the door."

"Don't leave."

"Blake, it's alright. I'll just be at the door." Yang walked out and went to the door. She opened the door and saw the two men in suits. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, is this the residence of Blake Belladonna?"

"Yes, why?"

"Are you Blake Belladonna?"

"No, what is this about?"

"Let us ask the questions. Is she here?"

"Yes, can we see her?"

"Um, I don't think that would be a good idea. You see, something happened..."

"That's why we're here. A Ms. Blake Belladonna and a Ms. Yang Xiao Long are requested at town hall. I recommend you go there now." That was the last thing they said to her before they left. She closed the door and was curious as to why she and Blake were requested to go to town hall. She walked back to Blake's room to see her still in the corner in fear.

"Who… Who was it?"

"It was some official guys. They want us to go to town hall immediately and they sounded serious."

"Okay." Blake lifted up the blanket and slowly got out of bed. "Let's go then."

"Are you sure? We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, I think we should."

"If you say so." Blake and Yang left the house and walked to town hall.

When they got there, they walked in to see a judge with a jury and the three guys from last night. Blake saw them and cowered behind Yang.

"Your honor, what the hell is this?! Why are they here?"

"Patience young lady, this is simply a sentencing hearing." Yang looked back at Blake who was still holding onto to Yang. The two girls walked to their desk and sat down.

"Just stay calm Blake. I won't let them get near you."

"Alright. Let's get down to business. The guilty party, you three men, are sentenced to 5 years in prison, no parole." Yang crossed her arms for she didn't really like how generous their punishment was. "Also, Ms Long, are you here?" Yang raised her hand. "You are being sentenced to a month of monitored house grounding." Yang stood up in anger.

"How does that work?! Those creeps tried to rape my friend and I'm paying for it too?"

"What you did to these men is still a penalty. If you wouldn't have seriously injured them, you wouldn't be punished, but due to their injuries, this will be you punishment." She sat down in anger. Blake put her hand on Yang's shoulder.

"Yang, it's alright. You still protected me so it doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm sorry. It wasn't necessary for me to get so angry." Blake smiled at her and Yang did her best to return the smile.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 8

Her Promise

Yang's house parole began that Tuesday and it was horrible. She was so bored and there was absolutely nothing to do. She constantly paced around her house, but it was no use. It only made things feel longer than they already were. It also made it hard to leave Blake alone at school. Although she promised to protect her, there was nothing she could do if she was locked up inside of her house. As she grew tired of walking around, she would plop onto her bed and just shut her eyes from the rest of the world.

I don't deserve this. They got what they deserved. I was just doing what was right. She sighed and threw her arm over her eyes and the days went on and on.

Back at school, it was Blake's weekly day to train with the kendo club. As she worked with the club, she definitely wasn't herself. Her instructor took it a little easy on her and had her fight 1-on-3 matches. However, she couldn't win a single match. She put up some of a fight in the beginning, but when they started to gang up on her, she would cower and drop her weapon.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, hold it!" Her instructor walked over to her. "Blake, what's wrong? You're not yourself at all. You even took the #1 spot at the tournament for your pool last weekend. What's wrong?" Blake brought her knees into her face and wrapped her arms around her head. "Blake, you can talk to me. What's wrong?" He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I... I... I can't do this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know. I was feeling so good last week, but something happened and now, it's all different."

"Well, what is it? Is it your vision?"

"No, of course not. You know my vision has been lost ever since I came to you."

"Well, what is it? I mean, it's gotta be something big." He looked at Blake who was furthering herself into her own mind. "Okay, I think I know what you're trying to say. It's probably something life-changing that I don't really wanna know the details of and you don't need to tell me. When I first met you, I was worrisome of taking you in because your parents had told me that you were blind, but I decided to take on the challenge anyway. And you know what I found?" Blake was still inside her own thoughts. "I found a girl who could make miracles happen. You may think your blindness is some kind of handicap, but it isn't. Through kendo, you've upped your other senses. Haven't you noticed?" She lifted her head and wiped the tears off her face.

"I guess."

"It's not a guess. It's the truth. You've learned to concentrate your mind and improve your hearing, touch, and smell. Now, it may seem like I'm exaggerating, but have you ever been beaten. Has anybody ever been able to land a hit to you?"

Sniffling, "No."

"And why do you think that is?" She didn't respond. "It's because most people rely on sight and sight can sometimes lie to us. Your ability to use touch, sound, and smell gives you the upper hand against anyone you fight. Now, I'm not trying to force you to do something you don't want to do, but just try to think about why you're the way you are, not how you could be? Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. I'll walk you home." He brought Blake up onto her feet and they walked to Blake's house.

As the week continued, Blake and Yang had a difficult time getting through things. Blake remained very anti-social at school and Yang was dreading her time stuck at home. At home, Yang was so worried about Blake. She knew nothing bad would happen; it was just the thought of not being there for her when something so traumatizing happened to her so recently.

The days for Yang got longer and longer. Nothing could have been worse than sitting around at home doing nothing. However, on Friday, a knock came from the front door and Yang was home alone. She walked to the door and opened it up to see the person she wanted to see for so long.

"Blake? What are you doing here?"

"I... I was worried about you."

"You were worried about me? I was worried about you. How have you been?"

"I've been fine. What about you?"

"Horrible. There's no way I can do this for a whole month."

"Haha, um, may I come in?"

"Oh sure, come on in." Blake walked in and immediately felt so safe and comfortable. The atmosphere of Yang's house felt just like how a home should feel: Safe and sound. Yang showed her to her room where they sat down in front of each other. "So, did you need to talk to me about something because I'm kind of not suppose to have others here during my sentence?"

"Yeah, it's, um... It's about the kendo tournament this weekend."

"What about it?"

"I'm not gonna participate in it."

"What?! What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"I can't do it."

"Look, if this is about what happened that night, you can't let it affect you. I know this means a lot to you and I don't want to see you give this up. When I watched you duel, you were something else. It was inspiring. I couldn't believe what I was watching."

"Yeah, but..." Yang got off her bed and grabbed Blake's shoulders.

"I know you're scared. I am too, but you can't give up. I know you'll able to win. If you get scared, just think of me. I'll always be there for you, even if I can't really be there for you. Just the thought of me should be able to give you strength."

"Yang, there's something I want you to know."

"What is it?"

"I..." She sighed. "I want you there with me." Yang was shocked. She didn't know what to say at first.

"Um, Blake, I'd love to, but you know I can't. I'm stuck here." Blake immediately grew saddened and dropped her head. "But hey, I know you'll win. There's no one out there who can stand a chance against you."

"Thanks. I'll try my hardest."

"You won't need to." They both smiled at each other.

"Well, I don't want to get you in trouble so I'll leave now."

"Alright. I'll walk you out." They stood up and walked to the front door. "Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?"

"I think so. And like you said, you're worried about me so you'll know if I need help."

"Yeah, you know it. Well, good luck tomorrow. I'm really sad that I have to miss it."

"I'll win it for you."

"Sounds good." Yang was about to say goodbye to Blake when Blake suddenly kissed Yang on the cheek and left without saying a word. Yang was speechless. She slowly lifted her hand up to her face and felt her cheek. Her face was super red and tingles traveled through her entire body. She ran outside to catch up with Blake, but she was already gone by the time Yang made it to the edge of the front lawn. Her face was all red and extremely hot. What just happened?

As Blake ran home, she stopped behind a tree and fell onto her knees. She put her hands over her lips and started to blush. She had shivers all over her body. Did I just do that? That was so random and childish of me, but it felt so good. She tried to get up, but immediately fell back down from the loss of strength in her legs. After a few minutes, she was able to stand back up and when she did, she put her hand over her chest and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I think you're the one Yang, I really do." She looked back at Yang's house. "My victory will be dedicated to you, just like my love."

End of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 9

Her Choice

Blake woke up slowly on Saturday morning. She got out of bed and did her daily morning preparations. After she was done, she gathered all of her things and walked to the bus stop. When she got there, she grew saddened for she knew she was going to have to tackle this by herself. She boarded and took a seat next to someone she didn't know. All throughout the bus ride, she remained silent and tried to think about what Yang told her yesterday. She had to stay strong for herself and Yang.

She walked into the convention center and signed. Already, she felt lonely and very lost. Since she wasn't with Yang, it took her awhile to find who she was fighting and where. Luckily, since there were less people, the PA system announced where the winners of each pool would be competing. Blake was assigned to Bracket A which was on the opposite side of the pool she was in last weekend.

When she got there, she sat down and took out of things. Unknowing to her, the man that stared at her as she left the event last week was eyeing her again from his bracket mat.

"Welcome back, everyone, to the final day of the 27th annual kendo tournament. Today, the final 32 will compete against each other. The structure of today's tournament is as followed: Bracket 1 is Pool A finalist against Pool H, Bracket 2 is Pool B against Pool G, Bracket 3 is Pool C against Pool F, and Bracket 4 is Pool D against Pool E. The winner of each bracket will come together and battle it out once we get the results. All that's left to say is good luck. Let the tournament begin."

In Blake's bracket, she had the second match so she decided to analyze the match. From the things she realized about that match, there wasn't anything to be too worried about. They fought carelessly which gave Blake a better idea of what she had to do. After the match was finally done, the next was match was called and Blake stood up and walked to the center of the mat.

"Alright, welcome. This bracket will work exactly like last week. One strike will do it so be sure to be smart and efficient. Take your bows and we'll get this thing started." They took their bows and walked to their sides of the mat.

When they turned around, they brought up their swords and the referee called the match to begin. Immediately, the man ran at her and Blake started t panic. Thankfully, she ducked and avoided his strike. She moved to the other side of the mat and waited for his next move. The man didn't waste a second. He brought his sword back up and ran at her. He swung down at her and she moved out of the way. He then swung his sword back up and Blake jumped back. He lunged at her and she moved out of the way, grabbing his hands and swinging her sword into his chest and knocking him to the ground.

"Winner! Blake Belladonna!" As the ref raised her arm into the air, she took a deep breath and became relieved. She did it. Still on watch, that man from before had watched her match to the fullest extent and he didn't like it at all.

The rest of the first round went on and Blake took it easy. She sat in her chair and analyzed the other matches. When those were finished, they moved onto the second round where the winner of the first match would fight the winner of the fourth match and the second would fight the third.

This time, Blake's match was first so she took to the mat and met her opponent. They did their usual and waited for the match to start. When it did, nobody moved. Blake waited for a response, but there was none so she decided to make the first move. Even though she did, her opponent went on the offensive. Clack...Clack, her opponent was putting up a worthy battle for Blake couldn't find an opening. However, as she blocked the shots and threw the blows, she noticed her enemy's footwork was unbalanced. She took multiple steps forwards and continued to attack. After that, she moved from left to right to throw him off-balance and her speed was able to create a hole. She swung up and then stabbed at his gut. Her blow was just enough to knock him to the ground and give her the victory.

Once her match was done, she waited one more match until the decider for her bracket. When the time came, she was surprised to realize that her final match wasn't even close. She took down her enemy in seconds and was named the winner of her bracket. As she was put in the spotlight, she looked around and felt no presence of Yang at all. She dropped her head and walked over to her stuff.

"It's coming down to the wire. Now, the structure is as follows: Winner of Bracket 1 vs. Winner of Bracket 4 and Winner of Bracket 2 vs. Winner of Bracket 3. Please give us some time to readjust the floor."

The convention center workers came out onto the floor and requested people to exit into the front lobby. When everyone left, they rolled up the four mats and brought out one big mat and placed it in the center of the floor. Once that was done, they brought up the spectator stands and placed them around the mat. They completed their job and invited everyone back in. Immediately, everyone was in shock. Even Blake could feel that the place was different.

"The first match will Bracket 2 and Bracket 3. Please take to the floor, contestants."

The stands filled up with people and the noise was filling the room. Blake grabbed her things and walked to the center of the mat. Her opponent was a much larger fellow. The pounds of his footsteps told Blake that this wasn't going to be easy.

"Alright, congratulations on making it this far. These last two matches are structured differently. First to three strikes will be the winner. Anyone have any questions?" They didn't say anything. "Alright, take your bows and we'll begin." They bowed and walked to their respective sides. Once they made it there, the two turned to face each other and the match started.

Blake waited, as usual, for her opponent to make the first move. When he did, it was obvious. The floor shook and Blake could her the thudding loud and clear. She also pursued him at the same time. The man started to charge up his shot which made Blake go on the defensive. When she received his strike, the power and force pushed Blake back a few feet and when she regained her concentration, her enemy was right in front of her and struck her in the gut. His strike was clean and caused her to drop to the floor.

"1-0"

"So this is what it feels like to get hit," Blake said softly to herself as she got up from the floor. It kind of seemed like an anticlimactic first hit, but everyone has to have a first something eventually.

"Warriors ready? Fight!" The next round began with quite a shock. Blake made the first move and her opponent struck down at the floor. However, she wasn't there. When he looked around, he saw her behind him, swinging at his back which ended the round."

"1-1"

The man tightened his grip on his sword and gritted his teeth. He was starting to become angry and Blake could feel it. The next round began and he ran at her again. He swung at her head and at her knees, but she dodged everything. When he spun around to deliver another strike, she was already in motion and landed another blow.

"2-1"

"Aaaaahhhhhh!" His scream could be heard from all over the world. She had him now. One more and she was moving on to the finals.

"Ready? Fight!" Immediately, the two fighters ran at each other at full speed. Both had their weapons charging as they neared the center of the map. They grew closer and closer with every step and the crowds were getting pumped. What was going to be the result? When they were finally within arm's reach, they both swung their swords and landed on opposite sides of the mat. For a moment, they stood there, motionless when suddenly, the giant man fell to the floor. After the loud thud, Blake smiled. "Winner! Blake Belladonna!"

The crowds went nuts. The small girl managed to defeat the giant monster. Blake couldn't even believe it herself. Her opponent was definitely strong, but she had speed on her side. There was no way he could have kept up with her for the entire match. After they recognized her victory, she ran out of the main atrium to find the nearest payphone to call Yang.

Unfortunately, Yang didn't answer her phone and Blake hung up with sadness. Yang, where are you? She walked back into the main room and the second match was already decided.

"At last, we finally have the match you've all been waiting for. The final two will be battling it out center stage. Blake Belladonna vs. Adam Taurus." When she heard that name, she had totally forgotten. He's been her rival ever since she started kendo. However, she always managed to win against him, but now, she wasn't so sure of herself. She grabbed her things and walked to the center of the mat where she met her opponent and the referee.

"Welcome you two, congratulations on making it this far. I think we all know that this'll be a great show. I want to wish you both the best of luck. Take your weapons and we'll get it started." They bowed, but before Blake could walk off, Adam said something to her.

"There's no such thing as luck, only the strongest can come out on top." He turned around and walked to his side of the mat. Blake also walked to her side, but thinking about what Adam had said. She turned around and analyzed the floor. She silenced the world and focused only what was on the mat. She felt the referee walking around and the faint heartbeat of her opponent just across the way.

"Ready? Fight!"

Immediately out of the gate, Adam dashed to the other side of the mat and struck Blake in the gut. She didn't even see it coming. It was so fast and so direct that she was unable to react. She dropped to her knees and he walked back to his side.

"1-0" The crowds went nuts. They were taken by surprise by such tremendous speed.

What are you doing Blake? Come on, concentrate. You gotta win this thing. You have to win it for her, for Yang.

She got back up and readied herself. The next round started and this time, she felt him run towards her. She swung forward, but she wasn't there. He appeared next to her and struck her on the side.

"2-0" She was in trouble now. The crowds were leaning towards Adam's victory. What could she do? There was no room for errors or laziness. Then suddenly, Blake gasped as the third round started. Again, Adam ran at Blake and swung at her head. This time, she wasn't there. He looked around, but couldn't find. Suddenly, he saw her behind her and swung his sword around his body, but she wasn't there either.

"Aaahhh!" Blake's sword thrust into his gut from below.

"2-1" The crowd was shocked. They couldn't believe that happened. Adam, too, was surprised. As he walked to his side, he gave himself a little pep talk.

"That's impossible. I saw all of it. How did she escape my sight?" He turned back around for the fourth round. Things changed and Blake ran at him. A block here, a swing there, another miss there; they were matching each other's skills. This round was by far the longest of the day. The round went down to the wire. It seemed that Adam had the upper hand, but when he attempted to land his final blow, Blake came from below and struck him again.

"2-2" Now, the crowds went ballistic. They were tipping cars and causing a riot. It was all tied up. This last round was going to decide it all. The two competitors were on their sides and waited for the go ahead. "Ready? Fight!" Adam readied his sword, but by the time he looked up, Blake was gone.

"Huh?" Then out of nowhere, she appeared in front of him with her sword in his gut. "Impossible."

"Eyes can deceive you." He was stunned as he fell onto his knees.

"That's it! We have a winner! Blake Belladonna is our champion! She is the winner of the 84th Annual Kendo Tournament." The convention center started to shake as the event officials brought out the trophy and presented it to Blake. A tear fell from her face. Somehow, she did it. She did it and without anyone helping her. Then suddenly, she heard her name being called out from somewhere in the room. She spun around and around, listening for the caller.

"Blake!" She stopped for a second and listened in even more closely to the shouting voice. "Blake, it's me!"

"Yang?" She slowly turned around and felt someone jump down from the stands, still calling her name. it was Yang. "Yang, it is you." She set down her trophy and ran towards Yang. When they got close, Blake jumped into Yang's arms and she held her in her arms as she spun around. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to watch you."

"But I thought you couldn't leave the house."

"I already told you I couldn't stay in there for a whole month. You did it. I'm so proud of you." Yang's face had on such a huge smile.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." As they spun around the center of the map, the man who gave Blake the stare, packed up his things from his recent match and left the convention center in anger. As Blake continued to stay in Yang's arms, tears began to fall from her eyes, uncontrollably. "You didn't have to come," she said trying to hold back the tears.

"I wanted to. I wanted to see you."

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 10

The Consequences

The two made their way onto the bus and finally left for home. All throughout the bus ride, Blake fell asleep from her long day of kendo. Yang simply sat by her side and enjoyed her time with her. After a while, Blake's head fell onto Yang's shoulder. At first, she was caught off guard, but then, she noticed that Blake was still sleeping so she let it go. She smiled and continued to look out the window until they made it back home.

When they got home, Yang nudged Blake to wake up, but she didn't budge. Yang didn't know what to do. Her house was probably locked after what happened last time and she didn't want to wake her so she picked her up off the chair and carried her to her house. Unfortunately, when she got there, it was a pretty awkward sight. A man in a suit was waiting for her at her front door. She shook Blake and she finally woke up.

"Hey Blake, wake up." She opened her eyes slowly

"What is it?" She turned her head to see the man in the suit waiting for them. Yang set her down on her feet and they both stood up straight.

"Evening ladies."

"Hi, is something wrong?"

"If you could invite me inside, I'll tell you what this is about." Yang slowly walked to the front door and let him in. he took a seat at the kitchen table when her grandmother came in.

"Welcome back Yang. Don't worry, I know what's happening. He called me earlier to request a meeting with you two."

"So, this is about me leaving my house, isn't it?"

"Not precisely. You don't have to worry about that anymore. We received an admittance by Blake's pursuers that they were intending to bring harm to Blake. Unfortunately, we don't know who sent them. All we know is that they've been sent to jail and you're sentence is being dropped."

"So I don't have to be trapped here anymore?"

"Nope. You are free, but we'll have to keep watch over this situation until things start to calm down."

"Oh man, I'm totally fine with that. Thank you," she said as she stood up to shake his hand.

"Well, thank you for having me. I'll take my leave now." The man stood up, grabbed his things and left. As he left, Yang ran to her grandmother and gave her a big hug. Her grandmother chuckled as Yang squeezed her as tight as she could.

"I'm glad you're happy."

"Oh yeah, grams, this is Blake. The girl from before."

"I know. We introduced ourselves already. I heard you had some kind of tournament today. How did that go?"

"It was good. I took first place."

"Wow, congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Um, it's getting late. Would you like to stay here for the night?" Blake and Yang were both surprised at this request.

"Really?"

"Of course. I'd feel really bad knowing that one of Yang's friends had to walk home alone this late. We'd be happy to have you, right Yang?" She looked at Yang, expecting her to agree with her.

"Of course, she can stay in my room."

"Wow, thank you so much."

"It's nothing. We're pretty much family, right?" Blake smiled and Yang showed her back to her room.

This time, it was much easier for Blake to find Yang's room. When they got there, Yang showed her to the bathroom and left her to her business. As the tub filled and Blake got in, she was kind of nervous. She was spending the night at Yang's house and they didn't care whatsoever. Also, what made it worse was that she was naked in their bathroom while thinking about it. She quickly cleaned up and returned to Yang's room. Once she got there, Yang told her that she was going to wash up so she was free to do what she wanted.

As she waited in Yang's room, she could feel Yang's room was pretty empty. She walked around and felt that she had a bed and a dresser. There was a closet which she didn't want to dig into. There was also window which kind of made her sad. She didn't have a window in her room and even if she did, it wouldn't matter. The thought could never be as strong as the actual sight. Yang came in a few minutes later and Blake turned quickly.

"Alright, so you can take my bed. My grandma said she had a futon that I could use."

"Oh no, I can't do that. It's your bed. I'm your guest. I'll sleep on the futon."

"Blake, your logic is a little screwed up. You're supposed to be comfortable here. I can't make you sleep on it and there's nothing you can do that'll stop me from sleeping on the futon."

"Alright," she said with faint sadness. Futons aren't the best things to sleep on and she felt bad about making Yang sleep on one even though it was her house.

"I'll be right back." Yang left the room to get the futon. Blake sat down on Yang's bed. She rubbed her hands on her bed. It was soft and quite large, larger than her bed. After a few minutes, Yang came back in with the futon. "Alright, got it." She laid it down on the floor. "It's pretty late so I hope you don't mind. I'm gonna head right off to bed."

"Okay, I think I'll do that too." Yang turned off the lights and plopped onto the futon. Blake kicked her legs underneath the blankets and lied down. Immediately, Blake felt warm. It wasn't entirely from the thickness of the sheets, but from the warmth of Yang's body. That warmth somehow lingered and it made her feel even more comfortable. She turned onto her side and she could smell Yang on the pillow. It was a soft, sweet smell that for some reason Blake never picked up when she was with Yang normally. "Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for letting me stay with you."

"No problem, any time. Good night."

"Good night." A few minutes went by and the night grew silent as everyone finally went to sleep. However, Blake was still awake. She was tired, but there was still something on her mind that was bothering her. Should I tell her? "Hey Yang," she whispered. Yang didn't respond. All Blake could hear was the sound of her soft breathing. It was a long day. Blake turned around onto her other side and sighed. "I'm blind." Tears fell from her eyes as she closed them and went to sleep.

...

The next morning came around with a loud start. Her grandmother called from downstairs and Yang rolled around in frustration.

"Come on grams, it's Sunday. Let me sleep."

"Yang!" Her eyes flipped wide open.

"Alright, I'm coming." She removed her blankets and sat up to rub her eyes. "Sorry Blake, my grandma's quite the morning person." She looked to her bed, but she wasn't there. She turned her head as she got onto her feet. She walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Blake and her grandmother were preparing breakfast. "Blake? You're already up?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of a morning person, and it appears your grandmother is too," she said with a smile. Yang turned her head. Boy do I know that, she said in her head. She walked to her chair and took a seat. When the food arrived, Yang was surprised.

"Whoa, did you both make this?"

"Not really, Blake did most of the work. I just showed her where everything was. You'd be surprised what she can do when she's aware of what's around her." The breakfast was strawberry waffles with scrambled eggs and toast. Yang put as much as she could onto her fork and swallowed it whole.

"Wow, this is really good."

"Thanks, breakfast is also my specialty."

"Hell of a specialty." The rest of the morning was them enjoying their breakfast. When they were done, Blake stood up and grabbed the plates. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning the table."

"Blake, you're our guest. Calm down, jeez. I got it."

"Okay." She set down the plates on the table and stood back. Yang grabbed the plates and put them in the sink. She walked back to Blake to bring her back to her room when her grandmother stopped them.

"Well Blake, it was really nice having you over. Please, come over anytime. Yang never brings anybody over and it can get pretty boring here so please, I insist that you come back and visit."

"Okay, I'll remember that." They smiled at each other and headed back up to her room where Blake packed her things.

"Wait, you're leaving already?"

"Yeah, I have to do some things at home."

"Oh, well then I'll help."

"No, it's alright. I can handle it on my own."

"No, come on." Blake put her hand on Yang's chest.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but I can handle it on my own. Thank you." She grabbed her things and made her way downstairs. Yang followed behind her with nothing but suspicion on her mind. She opened the door and turned around to face Yang. "Thank you once again for having me. It was fun. I'll see you at school." Blake turned around and left.

"Okay, bye." She and her grandmother waved bye as Blake disappeared from their sight. Yang closed the door and walked back into the house. Her grandmother was peeking out of the kitchen when Yang was making her way to the living room.

"I like her. She's definitely a keeper." She gave Yang a suggestive look.

"Grandma, what are you talking about?! Get back in the kitchen!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down, I'm going."

"Gosh, what's up with you today?"

Blake finally made it back to her house where she put her things in her room right as she got home. Once that was done, she walked to a very remote part of her house where a sign on the door read, "Do Not Enter." She sighed and opened the door. The room was big, but mostly empty. On the other side of the room was a desk with a bowl and a small bucket of sticks next to it. She took a stick and lit it on fire and got on her knees. She then pressed her hands together with the stick right in between them and closed her eyes.

"I miss you guys so much. It seems like it's been forever. I hope you're all doing alright. As for me, things have gotten much better. If you haven't found out by now, I met this girl who is the most perfect girl in the whole entire world. She's caring, friendly, and sweet. Unfortunately, I don't really know what she looks like, but I know she's beautiful, just like you mom. She's strong and outgoing, just like you dad. She's fun and full of energy, just like you little sis. I hope you approve. I just don't see myself with any other person. I think she's the one. Tell me what to do. I need to know." She paused for a second before resuming. "I just hope that you may rest in peace and know that I will stay strong for you guys. I love you all so much." She opened her eyes and blew out the small light from the stick and set it inside the bowl. She stood up and wiped a tear from her face as she walked out. Before she closed the door, she looked back one more time at the picture of her mother, father, and little sister.

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 11

The Reminder

A couple of weeks went by where nothing really special happened. Yang would go to school and then come back home. She got to see Blake every day, but nothing special happened. If they were lucky, they would said a couple of words to each other, but that wasn't very often. For some reason, Yang could never bring herself to talk to Blake in front of other people. As another week started, the teacher started with the usual daily announcements.

"Alright class, I hope you've been studying because finals are just around the corner. In 2 weeks to be exact." Yang groaned out loud, but her teacher didn't let it bother her. She's been getting used to Yang's little annoyances in class and now, it doesn't even affect her anymore. "Especially for this class, since you're all seniors, it's important that you pass." She stared at Yang who happened to be looking at her. "If you don't pass, you don't graduate." Yang rolled her eyes and looked away. "Well, enough of that stuff. The fall dance is coming up soon and I hope you all have someone special to ask."

That ended the daily announcements and things moved on to normal class stuff that Yang didn't pay attention to either. When the bell sounded for lunch, Yang woke up and saw that she was surrounded by a whole bunch of guys.

"Hey Yang, you wanna go to the dance with me?"

"Ah, don't go with him. He's a loser. I'm the better choice. Pick me."

"Dude, you're the loser. I'm the obvious choice. I'm sporty and handsome. Two things I know a smoking hot babe like you would want in a man." Yang was trying her best to ignore these creeps, but they wouldn't leave. She found a peep hole through their bodies and saw Blake looking at her. Her face looked sad as she packed her things to go to lunch.

"So, who are you gonna go with?" Yang pounded her fist on the table and stood up.

"None of you losers. If you're gonna ask a girl, at least put some effort into it. Apparently, none of you have ever actually asked out a girl. Besides, I'll be busy that day so don't worry about who I'm going with. Now get lost, all of you." Their faces became long as they left Yang's desk. Once they left, Yang walked over to Blake who was about to leave. "Hey Blake, where are you going?"

"I was going to eat lunch."

"Where? Don't you usually eat in here?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Oh, don't worry. Those guys won't bother us anymore. Come on, let's eat."

"Okay." Blake put her things down and took a seat in front of Yang where they enjoyed their lunch. Yang had a simple sandwich and Blake had a bento box lunch. Yang couldn't help but laugh at their differences in food quality.

"Do you make your lunch every day or does your family do that for you?"

"No, I do it myself. I like it that way."

"That's pretty good." As they continued to eat, Yang noticed that outside the room, those guys from before were crowding around. She didn't like it. She already told them to go away, but they were still trying to get at her. The door opened and the crowd of boys came in. "Seriously guys, I already told you..."

"We're not here for you, chillax honey."

"Yeah, shut up Yang!" She was confused. They walked towards Blake, grabbed her chair and slid it against the wall.

"How about you gorgeous? You wanna come with me to the dance?"

"Don't listen to him, I'm the better choice."

"No, me!" Yang watched as those guys were harassing Blake. There's wasn't anything Blake could do. They had her pinned against the wall and she wasn't much of a talker when it came to boys. Yang looked at Blake's face which was scared and desperate, exactly the way her face was the night of that horrible encounter. Her eyes were wide and she was starting to panic.

"Come on, go with me!" Out of nowhere, the group of guys exploded and they all fell on the floor. When they looked up, they saw Yang standing before them.

"What are your guys' problems? Leave her alone. Can't you tell she doesn't want to go with you?" Blake ran up behind Yang and stood close in fear. One guy stood up and walked towards them.

"That's not what it looked like to me," he said as his hand reached for Blake's skirt. Yang tightened her fist and punched him across the face. He was sent to the ground and the rest of the group was surprised. The guy who got punched was out cold.

"Let's get her!" They all stood up.

"Bring it!" They started to run at Yang when their teacher opened the door to the classroom.

"Hey, what is going on here?!" They all stopped dead in their tracks. She looked around the room and saw a boy on the ground. "Yang, did you do that?"

"It's not my fault. He was asking for it since he was harassing me and Blake."

"That doesn't matter. You could always just tell a teacher." Yang crossed her arms and turned her head. That's not always the best method, she thought to herself. "Boys, could you pick him up and take him to the nurse's office? And on your way there, visit the principal's office while you're at it."

"What?!" They all stood there in question, but she didn't want any of it. She directed them out of the room and closed the door and sighed.

"Yang, you gotta stop doing this. I've seen it. You've been improving so much, but why do you have to immediately resort to violence? It's not good. You're supposed to be a lady" Yang shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. It's always been the best and smartest thing to for me. And plus, being lady-like is something I vowed never to do." Her teacher sighed again.

"Look, I know you're new here and all, but I want you to succeed. I've gone over your grades and you need to raise it up. If you don't pass this final with a B or higher, you're gonna have to repeat this year. I'm very sorry, but that's the hand that you've been dealt." She left the room and Yang was dumbfounded. It was true that she wasn't doing too well, but the fact that she had to get a B or higher was the hard part. She sat back down in her chair and stared at the floor.

"I don't know if I can do that Blake. I'm not a school person." Blake was a little hesitant.

"Well, do you wanna study with me? I mean, I'm pretty set on grades. I could help you out a bit."

"No, that's too much. I can't ask you to do that."

"No, I want to. I don't want to see you have to suffer through another year of this. Really, I want to help you, and plus, we have a lot of time until finals so I think you'll be fine if we do our best during the time we have left." Yang smiled.

"Thanks Blake. You're too kind."

"Ah, don't worry about it."

"So should we study at your house?" Blake answered quickly.

"Uh, why don't we do it at your house? I think it would be easier. How about today after school?"

"That's fine with me."

"Great." They met a mutual agreement and finished up their lunch.

As the rest of the day went on, Yang desperately tried to stay awake, but it was just too hard. Nothing caught her attention and the way these teachers talked was so boring. After a couple of hours, the bell rang and school was over. She groaned out loud and sprawled out on her desk. It was finally over. She picked up her things and waited for Blake.

The two girls walked off campus and to Yang's house where her grandmother welcomed them back with such happiness. Yang told her that they were going to use the eating table to study and her grandmother understood not to bother them. She said hi to Blake and went into the living room for the rest of the night.

As they started their study session, it was obvious how much Yang was actually paying attention in class. Her main concern was in math so Blake decided to work on that the most. Yang wrote down the problem and immediately threw her pencil down on the table.

"This is so stupid."

"It's alright. Just calm down. What's the problem asking for?"

"It's right here." Yang was pointing at the problem, but Blake couldn't see it. She had to think quickly and intelligently.

"Read it to me. It actually helps the solver by reading it out loud."

"Alright, it says find the derivative of x^2+4x-10."

"So what do you do first?"

"I don't know," she said as she put her hands on her head. Frustration was filling her mind which made it even harder to concentrate on the problem right in front of her.

"Here, this is what you do." From behind, she grabbed Yang's hand and showed her how to solve the problem completely. When the solution was on the page, Yang looked down at her hand and saw that Blake's hand was still on it. To her surprise, it was small and full of warmth. She then turned her head to look at Blake. At first, Blake was looking down at the paper, but she felt Yang's head turn toward her so she looked right at her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Yang's heart was racing. She didn't know why. All she was thinking about now was Blake's lips. They looked so soft and so inviting. Yang slowly drew closer to Blake's face. Blake, on the other hand, was becoming nervous. She knew what Yang was doing, but she couldn't do it now. She quickly turned her head back to the notebook which made Yang regain the focus she had left.

"Alright, next problem." Blake let go of Yang's hand and walked back to her side of the table.

"Right, next problem." Immediately, the moment was destroyed. There was nothing left of it so Yang did her best to try and forget about it.

The rest of the night was pretty boring. Blake kept her distance from Yang and Yang was quiet for most of the time. They got through what they needed to, but didn't speak of anything else. Blake could feel the awkwardness in the room, but simply tried to get through it as best as she could. She was here to help Yang, not to do other things that had nothing to do with studying. The time approached 11pm and they decided it was time to stop. Blake packed up her things and she made their way to the front door.

"I'll walk you home."

"Alright."

As they walked back to Blake's house, no words were spoken. Blake walked in front of Yang and Yang was constantly on the lookout. However, every so often, her eyes would travel to Blake's lonely hand. She would reach for it, but then suddenly pull it back. She knew that Blake didn't want that since what she tried to do something similar earlier that night that didn't work. As the night grew on, they finally made it back to Blake's house. Blake opened the door and walked in, but stopped before closing the door.

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like me?"

"Of course I do. Why else would I hang out with you?"

"No, I mean... Do you like me like me?" Yang was silent. Was she talking about her attempt to kiss her? She looked at Blake who was still facing the inside of her house.

"Blake, I... I'm sorry about before. I don't know what got into me, but it won't happen again. I promise. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's just..."

"No, I invited you over to help me study, not do those kind of things. I'm sorry. I'm gonna leave now." Without another word, she turned and made her way back home. Blake couldn't get a word out to her so she just turned around and watched Yang disappear into the night. Blake put her right hand on her left shoulder as Yang finally disappeared from view. "I... I like you like you. I hope you know that." She closed the door and went to bed.

After a few minutes, Yang made it back to her house where her grandmother asked how the study date was.

"It wasn't a study date!" She ran upstairs and shut the door behind her and rammed her face into her pillow. Her heart was pounding harder than ever. That intense rush was taking over her entire body. She lost all control of her body as she tossed and turned on her bed. Trying to fight the sensation, she turned onto her back and pressed her hands against her chest as she looked up at the ceiling. "I... I actually really like you like you."

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 12

The Forever-Changing Day

The days started to wind down and Yang made up her schedule of going to school and then coming immediately back home to study for the night. Her and Blake occasionally studied together, but because of what happened their first night, they kept their distance. However, it was for the better. Yang was concentrating more and more and Blake could feel the change in character in Yang. It made her happier. It made them both happier. Seeing Yang shift to this kind of person really made Blake feel that she had an impact on her.

Whenever she was at home, she never saw a lot of her grandmother though. Her door would be closed, but she would always say hi to her when she got home from school. From inside her room, she would quietly say hi back and Yang never really noticed. It didn't really hit her until she started to notice that she was eating by herself every night since the night she studied with Blake. Normally, Yang would be alright with it, but something just felt weird about eating alone in that house.

As finals came around the corner with only three days left to study, Yang decided to take a break. She closed her books and took a deep breath. Unknowing to her, she had been studying every day for at least 6 hours. However, she did feel that she was starting to get everything. She went downstairs to get a glass of water. When she was in the kitchen, she heard some weird noises coming from her grandmother's room. She was suspicious so she walked over to it and pressed her ear against the door. There was slight rustling and a lot of bottle noises

What the heck is that, she thought. She opened the door and saw her grandmother in bed. She looked terrible, her entire body was covered in blankets, and worst of all, she had like 10 containers of medication next to her bed.

"What's going on?" Her grandmother stopped mid-way into taking some pills.

"Yang, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What are you doing? I haven't seen you in like a week and I come in and you're taking all these medications. What is this all about?" There was no hiding it. She put the pills on the table and sighed.

"Come in Yang. There's something I need to tell you." She closed the door and sat down next to her grandmother's bed. Judging by her tone, she knew this was serious so she opened her ears and paid attention to everything she was about to say. "As you know, I'm a pretty old lady and old ladies only have so much time to use. Personally, I think I've gone over my time limit and now, it's starting to kick in. Lately, I've been experiencing some heart problems and that's why I need these meds for. My doctors tell me that nothing serious should happen anytime soon, but I should be on my toes for anything."

"W... What are you talking about?" She sighed.

"When I'm gone..."

"No, what are you talking about? I don't wanna hear it. You'll be fine."

"Yang, you need to hear this." Yang looked up at her grandmother with tears starting to fill her eyes. "When I'm gone, you'll be on your own. I've written to your parents that you'll be fine and that I'll permanently take you in. Through these few months you've been with me, I've seen you change. I've seen you want to change and that's more than enough for me. All I want is for you to keep going down this path you've started. I know it'll lead to something good. So please, just promise me that you won't return to how you were." Now, Yang was crying. She couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Why are you saying these things? You're fine."

"Yang, I can't stop lying to myself or you. My time is coming." Suddenly, a knock came from the door and Yang quickly wiped off her tears. She stood up and left to answer the door. It was Blake.

"Hi Yang, how's the studying going?"

"It's fine," she said with a tremble. Blake could feel the weakness of Yang's body.

"Something's wrong. What is it?"

"It's nothing." Blake paused for a second to ease back into the conversation.

"Yang, please tell me. If it's something I can do, I'd be more than willing to help you. We've grown apart this past week and I want to make it up to you somehow. You can tell me." Yang sighed.

"Come on in. There's someone I want you to see." Blake walked in and followed Yang into her grandmother's room. Blake walked in and felt a strange aura irradiating from inside the room.

"Hi Blake, how are you today?" Blake knelt down onto her knees next to Yang's grandmother and took her hand.

"I'm good. Everything's good. How are you?" Yang clenched her fists tight.

"I'm gonna leave." She had heard enough. Yang quickly made her way out the room and closed the door behind her without saying another word. Yang's grandmother watched her leave and saw that this was too painful for Yang to go through.

"You know Blake, it may not seem like it, but Yang really likes you." Immediately, Blake blushed and cowered away from the conversation.

"What? Where did that come from?"

"I'm dying Blake, and when I'm not here for her, she'll need someone to take care of her. I was really hoping that it would be you."

"Me? Oh, I don't... I'm not sure I'm qualified to..."

"Blake, I've seen it. That sense of care in your eyes, you're genuine character; those are things that Yang needs in her life. I can tell you've gone through something like this before." She nodded her head. "And I'm guessing it was tough for you." She nodded again. "Well, I want what's best for my granddaughter. When I die, she'll have no one else and I'm worried she'll resort back to her old self. Please be there for her. Show her. Guide her. Love her, with all your heart because I know you do." Blake was speechless. She wanted to say something, but everything Yang's grandmother said was too important to forget. "Can you promise me that?" Blake closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Yes. I promise." Grams smiled.

"Good." She turned her head and looked at the wall. Meanwhile, Blake dropped her head and looked at the ground. She couldn't believe that something like this was happening to her again. It almost seemed impossible. "Oh yeah, I hear you're not going to the dance."

"Huh?" She chuckled to herself as Blake was bombarded by such a question. She told Blake that that was all and that she could leave. She crawled up next to grams and put her hand over her head and chest.

"What are you doing?" Blake closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she listened, she felt an irregular heart beat from within her chest. Her head was hot and Blake pulled her hands away slowly. She stood up and walked out in silence. Yang saw that Blake was making her way to the door and stopped her before she left.

"So what happened? What'd she say?" Blake didn't turn around as Yang's hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Nothing. Just be sure to take care of her." Blake brushed off Yang's hand from her shoulder and left without another word.

...

The next week of school was finally here and Yang woke up extra early. She got ready, grabbed her things, and made her way out.

"Bye grams!"

"Bye," she said softly.

On the way to school, Yang was going through everything she was studying for from English terms to mathematical equations to everything else in between. As she was busy in her thoughts, she noticed Blake walking towards her and they decided to walk to school together. They didn't really speak much because Yang was too focused on remembering everything before the tests and Blake was still nervous about what her grandmother told her yesterday. When they got to school, they walked into the classroom, took out their things, and prepared for a long, tiring day.

Morning turned to day. Day turned to dusk as the tests finally came to an end. The sounds of loud sighs filled the school as everyone sprawled on the table from a long day of testing. Once all the tests were collected, the teachers congratulated them and dismissed them for the semester. Everyone made a run for it, even Yang. She was the first one to leave school and she didn't even wait for Blake. She ran as fast as she could to tell her grandmother all about the test. She made it home and slid open the front door.

"Hey grams, I'm home, and I really think I nailed my tests." The house was silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of water dripping from the kitchen sink and Yang's heavy breathing. "Grams, you here?" She dropped her stuff at the front door and made her way into the kitchen. She wasn't there. She then walked to the living room where she was nowhere to be found.

Finally, the last place she could be was in her room. As Yang walked towards the door, she was a little hesitant. Was what she talked about yesterday actually true? She took a deep breath and slip open the door. Immediately, Yang gasped.

"Hey grams, please tell me you're sleeping." She walked in and knelt down next to her bed. "Come on, let's celebrate." She shook her grandmother to try and wake her up, but she didn't respond. "No, come on. Wake up." She raised her voice and shook her a little harder. She still didn't wake up. She pressed her ear against her chest. Nothing. She lifted her head back up and looked at her grandmother in immense shock. "Nnnnnnoooooooooo!"

From outside, Blake was about to knock on the door when she heard Yang scream. She ran through the door and dropped her things.

"Yang?! Where are you?!" She listened for anything and then she heard crying from the other side of the house. She ran as fast as she was able to and found Yang inside her grandmother's room. "Yang?" She walked in slowly and felt that Yang was kneeling on the ground. However, that was the only presence in the room. It took her a second, but she knew what had happened. "Yang, I'm so sorry." Now, Yang was screaming out in pain. Tears were falling from her face as she pressed her hands against her head. Blake knelt down and hugged her from behind. "It's okay Yang. I'm here. Please don't cry." Yang was pounding the bed as hard she could, screaming for her grandmother to come back, but it was no use. All the while, Blake was holding onto Yang as tight as she could, hoping that she would calm down.

After a long period of time, Yang calmed down and Blake was able to lessen her hold on Yang. Her breathing was still heavy and tears were still falling from her eyes. Blake was trying her hardest to stay strong for Yang, but the tears were welling up for her as well.

"Hey Yang, can I tell you something?" Yang didn't respond. She just whimpered and stared at the ground. Blake let go of Yang and crawled in front of her and grabbed her hands. "I know what you're going through. I've had to face the loss of my family too." Yang lifted her head to look at Blake.

"What do you mean?" Holding Yang's hands, she lowered her head and took a deep breath.

"It happened 5 years ago. I was attending a kendo tournament in a faraway city. Only me and my instructor could go so my family stayed home and watched from the living room. It was a great day. I never fought better in my entire life. I even ended up winning the tournament." She looked at Yang who was starting to stray away from the conversation. "Anyway, when we got back, my instructor walked me home and as we did, sirens and emergencies vehicles were passing us in such urgency. I didn't know what was happening. I was just really happy that I won. As we got closer to my house, I smelt something strange. When we finally made it to my house, it was completely burnt to the ground. Emergency people were surrounding the entire place. At the time, I didn't understand what was happening, until an ambulance person walked up to me. He asked me if this was my house. I said yes. He had told me that somehow, the house caught fire and everyone in was trapped inside the fire. No one survived. And I've been alone ever since." Yang lifted her head back up to look at Blake.

"Blake, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Blake grabbed Yang by the shoulders with tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"It's part of life, Yang. All that matters now is that life gets better. I promise." She wrapped her arms around Yang and hugged her tight. Her eyes turned to waterfalls as she squeezed Yang as hard as she could. "I'm so sorry Yang. I know she was important to you and for how long I knew her, she was an amazing woman. Never forget that." Yang slowly wrapped her arms around Blake and hugged her too.

"Thank you Blake, for being here."

"Anything for you Yang. I love you."

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 13

Let's Get to Know Each Other

Yang let go of Blake and pulled away slowly.

"You love me?"

"I know, it must be weird. I've just had this feeling ever since..." Yang grabbed Blake and hugged her again.

"I first met you." Blake was shocked. She just took the words out of her own mouth.

"You too."

"At first, I didn't know what it was, but after a while, I had a feeling that it was that." They pulled away from the hug and looked at each other. "Will you stay with me tonight?" Blake grabbed Yang's head and kissed her on the forehead.

"Of course. I'll call 911." Blake got up and walked out to find a phone. It took her awhile, but she finally found one and requested for the ambulance.

After a few minutes, they arrived and picked up Yang's grandmother. Before they left, one of the ambulance guys asked Blake what they wanted to do with her and she was afraid to answer that question so she told them that she'd think about it and get to them on it. They packed up and took Yang's grandmother to the hospital in the nearby city. Blake closed the door and walked back to grams' room. When she got back, she noticed that Yang wasn't in there.

"Yang? Yang?" She called out through the house, but she wasn't anywhere. She checked the living room and kitchen, but she wasn't there. The only place she could be was in her room. She grabbed the stair railing and looked up and sighed. One step at a time, Blake slowly made her way up the stairs and into Yang's room. When she slid the door open, she called to Yang, but Yang was sleeping on her bed. The sound of her soft breathing let Blake know that she was there. Blake shut the door behind her and walked in quietly. She walked to Yang's bed and stared at her for a second. Yang was definitely taking this loss much better than she did when she lost her family. Blake thought that Yang would do something crazy because of this loss, but no. She just shed the necessary tears and slept the rest of the situation away. She smiled and crawled up behind Yang, wrapping her arm around Yang's body and slept the rest of the night away.

In the morning, Yang was the first to wake up. Her eyes still felt a little swollen from the night before. She gently rubbed her eyes to try and wake up, but when she tried, she noticed that one of her arms was pinned down by Blake's arm. She looked down and saw Blake holding her on her right side. Was she with me all night? Yang couldn't help but smile. When she turned her head around, Blake's face was so peaceful and so caring. Yang managed to switch her body 180 degrees and used her free arm to brush her hair out of her face and that's when she woke up.

"Oh sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I've been awake for awhile. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Thank you, Blake."

"You're welcome," she said as she sat up on Yang's bed. "Hey Yang, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I, um... Well, it's... Would you spend the day with me?" Her head bowed and she turned silent, waiting for a response. Yang was somewhat flustered. Why did she have to make it seem so formal? Yang grabbed Blake's shoulder which made her look up.

"I'd love to." Blake's face lit up and she jumped out of bed to get ready. Yang got up slowly and thought to herself.

How did she do that? It's almost like I've completely forgotten about what happened last night. Is it me or is it something about her? Something about her makes me feel at ease even with this loss on my hands. She shook her head with a smile for she couldn't believe what was happening. After a couple of minutes, she got out of bed and got ready.

Once the two girls were ready, they made their way out the door and to Blake's first destination which was the town park. Blake told Yang all about the things she did with her family here. All of her memories were so happy and cheerful that it lessened the burden Yang carried about losing her grandmother.

Next was a ramen house. Blake told her that this was her favorite place to eat whenever she was feeling down. Her parents were the ones to show her this place and ever since then, she's loved it. The food was delicious and Yang was definitely enjoying it. On the other hand, Blake was starting to get a little on edge. Should I tell her? When would be the right moment to tell her? I don't want to make her any sadder than she already is. It isn't fair to her. She simply sighed and tried to enjoy the rest of her food.

For a large portion of the day, they spent their time in the small shopping district that the town offered. Blake showed Yang all of the good stores that she liked to go to. As they spent their time there, Yang began to realize what kind of town this was. Everybody seemed to know everyone and they all seemed very nice, something that reminded her of her grandmother. Nothing about the people there brought any bad thoughts to her mind. It was calming to walk around town without a purpose.

As Blake started to feel the sun start to set, she decided to take Yang to one more place. They got on a bus and rode it up to a nearby lookout post on top of a small mountain. When they got out, Blake ran to the lookout post and breathed in the fresh air. Yang followed behind slowly and looked around.

"Wow, this place is fantastic."

"I know. My family and I would come here all the time just to enjoy the view. I always remember seeing greenery that stretched across the land as far as I could see. The town was surrounded by nothing but freedom. Mountains protected this wonderful city. What do you see Yang?" Yang walked to the railing and stared out into the distance.

"I see what I've been missing out on my entire life. A place where I can truly call home." She turned and smiled at Blake.

"I don't see anything now," she said with her head down.

"What do you mean?" She sighed, took a deep breath, and looked at Yang.

"Yang… I'm blind." Yang was silent for a few seconds.

"What? How can that be? You've seemed so normal to me. How can you be blind? You're lying." Blake looked down in sadness.

"It happened about 7 years ago. I came down with some kind of medical issue. When my family took me in to check out what was wrong, all the doctors said that nothing was wrong with me. At first, we were kind of suspicious because to me, I knew something was wrong with me, but they didn't tell us anything. We went everywhere we could to try and find out what was wrong until one doctor from somewhere I don't even remember told me that I had some kind of parasite that was eating away at my visionary gland. He explained to us that this was an extremely rare case that didn't have a cure for. With the worst case scenario in play, I eventually lost my sight in 3 months' time and ever since then, I've missed out on so many things. I'm sorry I never told you this before, but I was so worried that you wouldn't accept me for who I am. Ever since I lost my sight, people have shunned me away and I've never found someone or something to call home." A tear fell from Blake's eye. "It's so hard on me, and that's why I hid it from you." Blake closed her eyes and started to cry. Out of nowhere, Yang grabbed Blake and hugged her softly.

"I don't care about the hows or the whys. You've changed my life around and that's all I could ask for. I know what you're going through. Before I came here, it was either get at Yang or stay away from Yang. It always felt like I was an outsider so I just decided that it was better that way. I could never find a calm ground until I came here and met you. Something about you was the thing that I longed for, for so long.

"Yang?" Yang pulled away and looked Blake straight in the eye.

"I love you." Yang closed her eyes and moved her face towards Blake. As this happened, Blake started to feel something warmer and warmer as she got closer and knew what was happening. She closed her eyes and her lips met Yang's as the sun landed on the horizon. The touch of Yang's lips was a feeling she had never experienced. She could just melt into Yang's arms as they embraced each other. After a few seconds, Yang pulled away and Blake's eyes were still closed. "Let me be your eyes. Let me be your heart. I wanna share this burden with you." Blake started to cry more, not out of sadness, but out of pure joy.

"And I'll be your heart as well." She pulled Yang back in for another hug and kept her in her arms for as long as she possibly could.

End of Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 14

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 14

Let's Make Some Memories

Blake and Yang made their way back down the mountain, both in each other's arms and walked home. Once it got to that point in the road, they said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways. Even though they were parting after such horrible events, it didn't even feel that bad. Being with Blake made Yang feel like a piece of her that was lost has finally been filled. Being with Yang made Blake feel like she had a purpose in life.

When Blake go home, she turned on the lights and closed the door with a smile on her face. She turned and reached for her cane. As she held it in her hands, she had memories of her struggling to get through on her own. She walked to the kitchen and threw it in the trash. When she did, an image of her and Yang came to her mind and she knew that this was for the best.

When Yang got home, she kept the lights off. She tried to stay optimistic about all of this, but being in that house made it hard for her to do that. She walked to her grandmother's room and looked inside of it one more time before closing it forever. After that, she walked into the kitchen and a memory of Blake and grams cooking together in the morning came to her mind. A tear fell from her eye as she turned off the lights and walked up to her room.

As she got to her room, it immediately felt bigger than before. She walked to her bed and saw her and Blake sleeping together. She sat down on her bed and put her hands on her head. There's too much conflict here. I don't know if I can stay here anymore. She plopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling. I love you grams, but I can't be reminded of what I've lost. It's too much to bear. It's too much to remember. I'm sorry. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

…

The next day started early for Yang. She woke up and quickly got ready. Once that was done, she made her way out of the house and caught the next bus to the hospital where they were caring for her grandmother.

When she got there, she asked for her grandmother and a couple of doctors took her into their office where they discussed what she wanted to do with her body. It took her a second, but she decided to have her cremated. She said that it would be the best thing for her and that she can have her with her wherever she went. Once that was decided, they told her that they would deliver the ashes in a few days and that her business with them was done. She got on the next bus back home and went to a real estate agency

There, she told them that she wanted to sell her house. At first, they were kind of suspicious of an 18-year old girl trying to sell her house, but when she told them about her loss and the reasons for selling it, they couldn't agree more. They told her to leave everything to them and that it would be resolved as quickly as possible. Once that was done, her goals for the day were over. She walked back to her house where she saw Blake outside knocking on the door.

"Blake, what are you doing here?" She turned around in surprise.

"Oh, I was worried about you so I came over right after I woke up. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me though." Blake suddenly hugged Yang and held her tight.

"I was so worried about you. I knocked and no answered. I was afraid you went out and did something horrible." Yang was going to answer, but she held Blake in her arms for a bit longer.

"I'm sorry. I guess I should have told you beforehand. I went to the hospital and a real estate agency. Blake was confused.

"Why'd you go there?"

"Last night, I figured out that it was going to be too hard to keep living here so I decided to have it sold. I felt that it would be better for me. Plus, I'm having her cremated so I can have her no matter where I go."

"So, you don't have anywhere to live?"

"Well, if they sell this place, yeah, but I don't know how long it'll take." Blake put her hands in between her legs and rubbed them together.

"Well, if you want, you… you can live with me." Yang's eyes widened in shock.

"You want me to live with you?"

"Well, you won't have a place to live and it kind of gets lonely at my house." Blake had such a shy look on her face. Yang smiled and lifted her head up.

"Blake, I'd love to come live with you. Thank you." They hugged it out and walked back into Yang's house to pack her things.

During this time, Yang packed all of the things she knew were precious to her grandmother and put them in a box and brought them with her. Once everything was packed, they made their way outside and looked back once more.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, this is the official start of my new life." They grabbed everything and made their way to Blake's house.

When they got there, Yang decided to take a little tour of the house since the only room she had actually been in was Blake's. It was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house that was actually quite big. When she tried to look inside the bedrooms, she saw that each door had a "Do Not Enter" sign and obeyed. She respected Blake and what she told her, but that complicated her living space. Where would she sleep if all of the rooms were occupied?

"I hope it's not too crowded here. I don't really like to move things around."

"No, it's fine. I was just wondering though, um, where do I sleep?" Blake answered with shyness in her voice.

"Well, you can sleep in my room." Yang blushed.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not. I slept with my little sister all of the time." Yang sighed and let it go.

"Okay." She put her things inside Blake's room and walked back into the living room. She sat down on the couch and looked around. As she looked around, she saw pictures of her entire family all around the house. At first, she wondering how she could have so many photos of them hanging everywhere, but then she remembered that she couldn't even see them and that they were probably from back when her family was still together. She mentioned that she didn't like to move things around. Has it looked like this ever since her family was alive? No, it couldn't have been.

As she looked around, all of a sudden, Blake appeared in front of her and at a rather close distance.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Please don't think of this as me being creepy, but I don't even know what you look like."

"Oh yeah, I'm…" Blake put her hand over Yang's mouth.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to find out for myself." She brought up her other hand and started to feel Yang's face. For Yang, this was the first time something like this was happening to her, but it was actually pretty interesting… and weird at the same time. As Blake inspected Yang, she could see the concentration in her eye. For Blake, she wanted to feel everything. The shape of her head, the size of her cheeks, the length of her hair; nothing weird though. Blake was mature enough to refrain that kind of stuff.

After a few minutes, Blake slowly lowered her hands onto her lap.

"Wow, you're beautiful." Yang was caught off guard and started to blush. All throughout her life, no one had ever called her beautiful before. She couldn't help but thank Blake for that comment. "Even though I'm blind, I sometimes can say that it's a gift. I don't have to rely on eyes which makes me rely on feelings and other things. I could never see the things I see now if I actually had my vision. How do you see me?" Now, Yang was put on the spot. She knew she had to answer from her heart because Blake's response to Yang's appearance was so genuine and unique.

"I see a girl who's flawless. I see someone who doesn't let anything affect her. She's strong, smart, and more beautiful than anything I've ever seen in my entire life." Blake started to tear up. Likewise, no one has ever called her beautiful for no one cared about her aside from her family. Yang wiped away that small tear from her face.

"Yang, how can you be so calm about me being blind?"

"What kind of question is that? I understand your situation of having to see people through who they are, not what they look like. When I met you, it was what was on the inside that made me like you so much. I didn't care what you looked like, but now, it's just a perk that comes with being you." Blake smiled.

As the night grew late, they got ready for bed and made their way into Blake's bedroom. Yang grabbed a blanket and laid it on the floor.

"You don't want to sleep with me?" Yang blushed again.

"Oh, I uh… I didn't know if I could or not."

"I told you I've slept with my little sister numerous times in the past."

"Okay." She picked up the blanket from the ground and put it back into the closet. Blake let Yang sleep against the wall and she crawled in after her.

In the beginning, it felt kind of awkward because they both had their backs facing each other and didn't speak at all. However, their minds were racing. They were thinking about how lucky they were to have met someone as special as each other. They also felt quite daring for sleeping with each other, even though they've only known each other for a short period of time. A couple of hours went by and they were finally asleep. However, Blake only had her eyes closed. She was still awake.

"Yang, are you awake," she whispered. Yang didn't respond. "I do wish I could truly see you, just once." Blake closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. From just across the bed, Yang heard everything. Her comment was so strange. All of this time, it never seemed like Blake cared about seeing until just now. Yang turned around and put her arm over Blake's body. She kissed her on the cheek and tried to fall asleep.

"I wish I could see the world through your eyes."

End of Chapter 14


	15. Chapter 15

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 15

Let's Switch Places

The day started at 5am in the morning for Yang. Blake was still sleeping so she carefully got out of bed and made her way outside. For some reason, she felt like a new person. She took a deep breath in and let it out. I think I'm gonna go for a run. She pumped herself up and started her morning run.

As she ran, she noticed the town slowly start to rise and begin their daily routines. Donuts shops were opening up and selling out quick. The street lamps stretched down the streets and provided light throughout the town. Once she cleared the business district, she found herself in another neighborhood area. The houses were small with all of their lights off. In front, there were bikes and playground sets everywhere. This brought a smile to Yang's face as she quickly made her way in and out.

She passed the school, which was closed for winter break. That was the one place she didn't enjoy seeing, at all. Her run ended pretty quickly after that when she looped around to her grandmother's house where she saw a package at the door. She walked to it and found that it was the ashes they said they would deliver. She smiled and pressed it against her chest as she walked back to Blake's house.

When she got back, Blake was making her way out of her room when she heard the front door close.

"Yang, is that you," she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, did I wake you?"

"No, I just got up." She yawned and stretched out her arms. "You want some breakfast?"

"Sure, that sounds great." Blake and Yang made their way into the kitchen where they started to make breakfast together. Yang, unfortunately wasn't very much help, since Blake knew what she was doing and Yang wasn't the cooker Blake was.

It wasn't anything special, but it was good. As they finished up their food, Yang came up with an interesting idea.

"Hey Blake, I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"You said you wanted to see me actually right?" She nodded her head. "And I want to see the world the way you do so let's switch things up. You'll teach me kendo and I'll show you something and tell you all about. I know it's not really what you wanted, but I promise I'll make it worth your while."

"Okay. What are you gonna show me?"

"That's a surprise. I think we should do my request first."

"Alright, if you're up to it."

"Of course I am." They cleaned up the table and got ready for some kendo. Yang dressed in whatever sporty apparel she had and Blake wore her actual kendo outfit. Near the back of the house, there was a spare room that Blake used to practice kendo on her own. When they walked in, Yang was super pumped and super excited. Blake put a sword in Yang's hands and she was ready. What she wasn't ready for was the blindfold Blake put over her eyes. "Wait, what is this? Is this a blindfold?"

"You said you wanted to see the world the way I do so I have to blindfold you."

"Oh, I meant like you explain to me more in depth about how you do it," she said as she tried to take off the blindfold. Blake smacked Yang's hand away from her head.

"I don't think so. If you wanna experience this, I suggest you shut up and listen." She stood straight at attention with nothing else to say.

"Yes ma'am!" Blake walked across the room to her respective side.

"So every match, I clear my mind of everything except for what's in front of me. Can you do that?" Yang chuckled as if Blake was making fun of her. "Once you do that, you feel for where your enemy is. Their steps, their heart beat, anything that would give off their position. Once you've done that, that's when you decided to attack or defend." Yang smiled.

"Alright, then I decide to attack." Yang tried to ran at her, but suddenly, she felt a gush of wind hit her face and Blake's voice came from right next to her.

"You were too slow." Blake gently hit Yang in the stomach.

"Ah, that's not fair. I didn't know we were starting."

"Yang, I'm starting to think the girl with vision needs the handicap. Am I wrong?" Yang gritted her teeth, trying to hide her smile.

"Fine. Fine, fine, fine, bring it. I'm ready." Blake was now on the other side of the room.

"Good, because I'm not gonna go easy on you. Begin!" Yang lifted her sword into the air and tried to listen for Blake was. Unfortunately, it was no use for she was like a fox. It wasn't until Blake was right behind when she knew where she was. "When you're in range of your opponent, you strike." Yang swung her sword behind her and missed. "Keeping in mind of both offense and defense." Blake hit her in the back. "You left yourself wide open on that." Yang swung behind her again, but Blake rolled out of the way.

"I see what you're doing. You're toying with me," she said as she slowly spun her body, trying to examine the room.

"I'm only doing this because you're still relying on your eyes."

"How can I even be doing that? I can't even see."

"You're not paying attention." Blake slapped her on the arm and Yang responded quickly. However, she whiffed and Blake disappeared. Now, Yang was getting frustrated. In her head, she was thinking about how hard this actual was and that Blake was a true pro.

From across the room, Blake saw that Yang had her guard down and decided to pause the match.

"Don't get frustrated Yang. It's alright if you can't get it just yet. This kind of adjustment is something that's very difficult to understand"

"But I wanna understand how you do it." Blake walked up to Yang and grabbed her hands.

"Just take long, slow breaths in and out. Feel the sword and how you're gripping. Feel the ground you're standing on. Can you feel anything?"

"I… I kind of feel a thumping."

"Yes. That's your heart beat. Flow it through the ground and to your opponent. If you're calm enough, you'll be able to feel you're opponent's heartbeat as well. Also, this is simply a trick, but try to remember what your opponent smells like because that'll give you a major advantage. You ready?" Yang nodded her head. Blake let go of her hands and walked back to her side of the room. "Okay. Begin!"

Yang didn't move. She stood motionless and tried to do everything Blake told her. When Blake walked to the right, Yang's head followed her movement. Blake couldn't help but smile for she was actually listening. Blake then moved to the left and Yang's head followed the same way. Next, Blake took a step forward and Yang quickly brought her sword up to her face. It was time. Blake charged Yang and Yang swung straight down. She missed, but then felt like she had to swing behind her. At the very tip of her sword, she felt slight resistance and Blake jumped back to her side of the room. Blake started to clap and Yang removed her blindfold.

"Did I do it?"

"Almost, you caught the tips of my hair with your sword. Very good Yang. I could feel that you were calm and collected. Not many people who I fight can make themselves appear that way. So already, you're ahead of the pack." Yang grabbed Blake's hand.

"Thank you Blake. I know it wasn't much, but it really helped me understand what you do so easily."

"Thank you for listening." Out of nowhere, Blake kicked her leg at Yang's and she was sent airborne. Once her body was completely in the air, Blake brought her onto the ground and climbed on top of her. "You weren't listening to that though." Yang brought her leg around Blake's body and they switched places.

"Neither were you." Blake was actually surprised. She didn't see that coming at all. Yang stared down at Blake and into her hazel eyes. She saw that they were slightly gray compared to normal eyes.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Yang lowered her head and kissed Blake. "I'm gonna go wash up. This was actually pretty sweat-worthy." Yang stood up and brought Blake up with her.

She filled the tub and got in. The steam from the hot water filled the entire room and Yang went into her thoughts. Hm, clear your mind of everything except for what's in front of you. She closed her eyes and put half her head into the water. After a few seconds, she heard a thumping sound then came the soft sound of the shower head dripping water. Wow, it works. Suddenly, she heard a slight creaking noise from outside the door.

"Yes?!" Blake stopped mid-knock.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you were alright."

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"Okay." She heard Blake walk off. Did I just hear Blake come and go? It really does work. She lifted her arms out of the tub and started to swing them around aimlessly. The sound of water splashing everywhere could be heard from all across the house. Yang stopped to calm herself down. Calm down Yang, it's not like your hearing senses have improved. Oh, who am I kidding of course they have. She swung her arms everywhere and splashed water all over the place.

After a few minutes, she made her way out of the bathroom, acting as if she was a sophisticated human being. She totally disregarded what happened inside the bathroom. When she turned the corner, she Blake standing right in front of her.

"Did you have fun?" Yang froze as she drying her hair.

"W… What are you talking about?" Blake had a smirk on her face.

"I heard you flipping out over something. What was it?"

"I wasn't flipping out. What are you talking about? Don't be ridiculous." She had been caught. Damn, Blake's better than she thought.

As the day went on, Blake kept asking about what she was doing in the bathroom and what the surprise was. Yang couldn't tell her either, but she did say to be patient. When the day started to end, Yang walked outside and looked at the roof to see if they could get up there. On the side of the house, she saw a ladder looking thing connected to the house and brought Blake out with her. She told her that they were going to climb onto the roof. At first, Blake was nervous for she had never done something like this, but Yang told her that she was going to be there for her the entire time. Blake slowly climbed onto the ladder and made her way up to the roof. Yang was close behind her and eventually made it up as well.

When they were both up there, they laid down on their backs and enjoyed the view.

"So, what do you see?"

"Well, I feel warm."

"No, no. What do you see?"

"Nothing."

"Perfect. I see a bright orange sun sitting atop the horizon waiting for its time to show its light to the rest of the world. The colors and its warmth are inviting as this day comes to an end." Yang looked at Blake who was definitely trying to imagine it. She had seen a sunset before, but it was so long ago that it was becoming harder and harder to remember. As they laid there for a couple of hours, the night grew darker and the stars slowly started to shine through the darkness. "Now what do you see?"

"Nothing."

"Imagine this. A vast space that knows no boundaries. Millions of brilliantly shining stars filling the skies and we're barely a speck compared to them. Travel to somewhere you can't even imagine. A place where words can't describe. Just think, the beauty of one of those stars can't compare to you."

"Yang." Blake turned to Yang.

"That's what I see." A smile was on Blake's face. Yang scooted next to Blake and wrapped her arm around her.

"I bet it's beautiful."

"I mean, I can see it all yet I have no idea what it actually is. You're totally right, eyes can be deceiving and they're definitely not needed sometimes. You said you want to see for real, but just think, isn't imagination stronger than anything in reality." Yang chuckled. "In the bathroom, I used what you told me and knew that you were going to knock on the door. That's why I was freaking out and making so much noise. Happy now?" Blake smiled and tapped Yang's stomach.

"I had a feeling that was what you were doing."

"You're just too smart for me Blake." Yang held her tight and they slept the night away on top of the roof, underneath the endless blanket of stars.

End of Chapter 15


	16. Chapter 16

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 16

All Good Things Must Come to an End

During the winter break, Blake and Yang spent more and more time together, getting closer and closer to each other. They slowly started to learn new things about each other that they were too afraid to share with anyone else and it was working. They were becoming closer as friends and even closer as a couple. However, as the last couple days of the break came to an end, there came something that they weren't expecting.

A knock came from the door, early in the morning and Yang walked to it. She opened it and saw her parents.

"Yang, what the hell is wrong with you?!" They stormed in without permission. "How could you not tell us your grandmother died?!"

"How'd you know I was here? How you find out?"

"We got a call from a nearby hospital, giving us their condolences. When we figured this out, we rushed over here to get you, but you weren't at the house so we asked around and ended up here. How can you be so irresponsible?" Blake walked out of the living room and into the hallway of the front door.

"Yang, is everything alright?"

"And who's this?" Yang walked over to Blake and stood in front of her.

"She's a friend. A friend nice enough to house me after what happened."

"If you were responsible, you wouldn't have had to worry about that. We would have taken you back."

"That's why I didn't call you. That's exactly what you would have done and what you're doing right now. You made me move here to learn to be more responsible and that's what I'm doing. Grandma's death is my responsible since she was the one housing me. It's not like you care about me anyway. Grams was a much better parent than you guys ever were. You didn't care that much as to leave me in some small town with a relative I barely even knew. You're the one who's not responsible."

"Enough Yang, I don't wanna hear it. You'll pack your things and get in the car. We're leaving." Yang held her ground.

"No, I don't have to listen to you. I'm on my own now."

"Honey, grab her things." Without saying anything, her mom rummaged through the house to find Yang's things. Once that was done, she made her way outside to put her things in the car. Yang tried to chase after her, but was stopped by her father who grabbed her by the arms and forcibly brought her to the car.

"No, you can't make me! Blake!" Her father managed to get her in the car and he started to the car. Blake was panicking. She was trying to listen for where the car was. Once she did, she ran as fast as she could to try and catch up to it, but by the time she figured out its position, it was gone. All that was left was dust flowing through the air and Blake looking out into the distance.

"Yang, don't leave me."

…

All throughout the car ride, Yang was screaming and pounding on the windows, demanding to be let out. Her parents, however, didn't listen to her. They just stayed quiet and drove back home. After a few hours, they finally arrived at their house and when they opened the doors, Yang jumped out in complete anger.

"What is wrong with you guys?! I was doing just fine until you decided to show up!"

"It was a mistake to think that you could live without your parents, but we won't be making that same mistake. From now on, you'll be under house arrest. You'll stay in your room until otherwise notified. Maybe now, you'll learn how to be responsible."

"No!" Yang tried to make a run for it, but her father intercepted her and tackled her to the ground.

"Grow up Yang. There are always consequences to immaturity." He wrapped his arms around Yang and carried her inside the house. As he did, Yang was squirming around and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Blake! Blake!"

…

Meanwhile, Blake was still outside sitting on her front lawn, waiting for Yang to return, but there was no sign of her. Blake felt the dark of night span across the city and walked back into the house. When she did, she started to tear up. Without Yang's presence, the house felt like how it's been for 5 years: Lonely. She walked around the house, trying to find something that would remind her of Yang, but they literally took everything that belonged to her. As her search failed, she walked back into her room and closed her door. She knelt beside her bed and put her head on top of it.

"Is this how it was meant to be? I didn't do anything wrong. Yang didn't do anything wrong, yet why are you punishing us? It's not fair." More tears started to flow from her eyes as she sat there in the darkness. "Yang, where are you? I can't find you."

…

Winter break finally came to an end and Blake was having a hard time at school. She was late every day and when she got to school, it was almost as if she forgot where her classroom was. Yang was stuck in her room with nothing to do so she resorted to pacing the floor and punching the walls as hard as she could. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She thought that her parents wanted nothing to do with her, but apparently, that wasn't true.

For both girls, it was so hard to get through the days. From boredom to confusion, they felt like they didn't belong where they were. Something was missing in their life and it was obvious to them what was missing. Unfortunately, Yang was too far away from Blake and Blake didn't even know where they went when they left. Was this the end for them?

Every night, Yang was called down for dinner, but whenever she got to the table, she would grab her bowl of food and throw it against the wall. Her parents said nothing and Yang always said the same thing,

"I don't want your pathetic hospitality." She would then storm off to her room and run her normal routine and pacing the floor and punching the walls. To Yang, she definitely felt like she was returning to her old state of being rebellious, but to her parents, it was all the same to them. What did she have to do to make them believe she changed? From the looks of it, it didn't look like anything could change their views on her. She's always brought nothing but trouble to them so that in itself was a huge hurdle to get over.

For Blake, every night, she would walk around her house, hoping that Yang would be hiding in some remote corner of the house, but it was never good news for her. When she grew tired of it, she would return to her bed and stretch out her arms, hoping somebody would be right next to her. However, this was simply a child at prayer. She knew that it could never be the same for them no matter how much she wanted things to return to normal.

One day, while Yang was laying on her bed, she received a phone call from the real estate agency, telling her that they sold the house and that her money was ready to be picked up. She asked them if it was possible to deliver to her and they complied. She told them her address and they told her it would arrive in a days' time.

With this news in mind, she waited for her package to arrive. As she did, she started to devise a plan with the money she was about to receive. Where she could go, what she could spend it on, how she was going to escape; everything was flowing into her brain. She had to get out of there one way or another. Then suddenly, an image of Blake came to mind. It was her staring up at the stars. Yang put her hand over her chest and tightened her fist.

"I'm coming back Blake. I made a promise and no one's gonna separate us."

The next day came around and Yang was still lying on her bed, waiting for her package to come in. Her parents were home so now would have been the perfect time for it. The day turned noon and then there was a doorbell that broke through the silence. Yang ran to her window and opened it up to see a mailman.

"Hey, up here!" The mailman looked up in confusion.

"Oh, hi. Do you live here?"

"Uh, yeah, why else would I be here?"

"Sorry, that was a stupid question. I have package for someone named Yang Xiao Long."

"Yep, that's me. You can go ahead and toss it up here."

"You can't just come down and get it."

"Trust me, if I could I would. Come on, throw it," she said as her hands stuck of the window and clapped for it. The mailman looked around and made sure no one was a round to see this. He underhanded it up to Yang's window and she grabbed it out of the air. "Thank you." She closed the window.

"You're welcome." The mailman was so confused. He scratched his head and walked back to his car and drove off.

Back inside Yang's room, she opened up the package. In the front, there was a letter,

_Dear Ms. Long,_

_You'll be happy to know that your house has successfully been sold for a very handsome price. Inside, you'll see the money that was paid up full. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our agency. One again, thank you for choosing us to do all of your housing needs._

She put the note down and dug into the package. Inside, she found a wade of cash that was $270,000. Her jaw dropped to the floor. Was that house really worth that much? She shook her head and returned to her plan. Okay, I've got the money. I need to get out of here. It'll be awhile until my parents figure out I'm gone since I've planned for that. Not talking to them or leaving my room for dinner has paid off. She took a deep breath.

"You guys are wrong about me. You don't know me at all."

End of Chapter 16


	17. Chapter 17

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 17

All Good Things Can Return to Normal

Yang packed only the things she would desperately need. A few pairs of clothes, money, and nothing tying her to her parents. She slid open the window and crawled out. She looked down to the ground for it was quite a big drop. She closed the window behind her and leapt. When she hit the ground, she rolled to lessen the impact. She looked around and no one was around. Perfect. I need to find the nearest bus station. She sneakily ran through the city, avoiding any unnecessary contact with others until she finally made it to a bus station. She asked for the next bus back to the town Blake was in. Luckily for her, the next bus was coming in about an hour. She paid for the ticket and waited until it was time to leave.

As she waited, she pulled over her hood to make sure no one saw her, even though no one there really knew her in the first place. She constantly checked the time, but it seemed to go by without an end. She looked around to make sure her parents wouldn't show up for some reason, but saw others things that made it worse.

She saw endless couples holding hands and embracing each other in their arms. She couldn't help but envy them. However, she also had to look away. The memory of her being pulled away from Blake was too difficult to think about, but she was going to return. She made a promise, and she wasn't going to fail her now.

She checked the time once again and saw that there was only 10 minutes. She started to get jittery as the clock counted down. Then suddenly, an old lady took a seat next to Yang.

"You running away?" Yang was shocked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh trust me deary, I've seen many runaways in my lifetime and you're not doing a good job at hiding it." Yang sighed. "So what's the purpose for this attempt at rebellion?"

"It's not rebellion."

"Then what is it? You can tell me. I'm an open book. I love stories." Yang looked at the old lady and saw that she was nothing but sincere. She had a smile on her face and was ready to hear whatever Yang had to say.

"Well, it's about my parents. We've never had the best relationship and recently, they dropped me off somewhere to live on my own and be more responsible. At first, I didn't like, but then I met the most incredible person in the world, unknowingly. Things happened and time went on when we started getting to know each other even more. More stuff happened and then my grandmother died. Not long after her death, my parents came back for me, saying that it was my fault that she died and that I should have told them about it. Then they forcibly took me back with them and now I'm trying to return to my rightful home. Dumb story, I know."

"And how old are you?"

"I'm 18."

"Then you're story is justifiable. You're at the age where you need to make your own decisions and your parents need to respect that. I'm completely on your side. I think what you're doing is the right thing to do."

"Attention, bus to Shard (name of the city) is now boarding." Yang stood up and grabbed her things.

"Well then, I guess this is where we part ways."

"Hm, thank you… for listening and understanding."

"My pleasure, now run along. You've got someone to get to." Yang smiled and nodded. "Good luck." Yang ran off to the bus and got on board. As she took her seat, something inside her made her feel better about all of this. Was it that old lady? Is it me? Am I truly making the right choice? She slunk back into her seat and took a deep breath for the trip back would be a long one.

Back at Blake's house, she was lost. She was desperately scraping around to find whatever she was looking for. For Blake, it seemed as if she was in an entirely new house. She didn't know where anything was and it all felt different for her. She got on all fours and tried to find her way back to her room. After a few minutes, she finally found it and cowered onto her bed. She curled up into a ball as the darkness was slowly surrounding her from all sides. Nowhere was safe, no place was secure. She was all alone.

As she was in her room, the tears started to form and well up in her eyes. She had never felt so alone in her life. Not being with Yang made her life seem worthless and unknown. She made a promise with me. Where is she? I need you here with me. I can't do this alone.

"Yang, where are you," she asked softly, but there was no response.

She laid herself down on her bed and tried to fall asleep. A couple of hours went by and things felt like they were getting calmer for her. She didn't feel so flustered. Then, she started to have a dream.

It was her and Yang sitting around at home, enjoying each other's company. Yang had a smile on her face and she was in Yang's arms. Nothing could have been better. She enjoyed the dream until there came an interruption. The door was busted down and a crowd of men came running through. Yang stood in front of Blake and defended her against the hoard of people. At first, it seemed like it was going to end well until Yang was knocked to the ground and the crowd of people dragged her out of the house. One of the men held down Blake until the rest of the group made it out of the house. Once they did, he let her go and ran off.

Blake opened her eyes and screamed. She kicked her legs out from the bed and fell on the floor. Yang, don't leave me. She scrambled on the floor, trying to get her legs under her as she tried to find her way to the front door. Once she did, she ran to every door until she finally found the front door. She unlocked it and ran out, but immediately bumped into someone. The person held onto to Blake, making sure she wouldn't fall over from running into them.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault for… Yang?"

"I came back, like I promised." Out of nowhere, it seemed as if Blake could see again. She knew where she was and who was in front of her. "I'm sorry it took so long." Blake suddenly slapped Yang across the face and immediately melted in her arms.

"You should be sorry," she said as the tears were falling like rain from her face. Blake was gripping the back of Yang's shirt and struggling to maintain her composure. Yang closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Blake.

"I'm so sorry."

"Just shut up." Blake squeezed even tighter and pressed her ear against Yang's chest. That grand thumping and feeling of warmth was like the greatest thing Blake could ever ask for. Blake then pulled away and felt Yang's face. "You seem different. It's almost as if you're sad. What's wrong?" Yang grabbed Blake's hands.

"I was separated from you." Without saying another word, Yang moved her head closer to Blake's and kissed her on the lips. The warmth from Yang's body traveled through hers and into Blake's body. Things were finally returning to normal for Blake. Yang pulled away. "But it'll never happen again. I promise." She hugged Blake once again and they walked into the house together.

A couple days went by and everything finally seemed to return to normal. Blake was more aware of what was around her and Yang was much happier not having to be around her parents. However, not everything settled nicely. Just a day after Yang's departure, her parents called her down for dinner, but she didn't respond. For them, that was the fourth straight day she didn't come down for dinner so they decided to investigate what was going on. They knocked on the door, but she didn't respond. They pulled out their key to her room and opened it up to see the room empty. She wasn't anywhere. Her mother grew worried, not because she was missing, but because of what her father would do if he found her.

End of Chapter 17


	18. Chapter 18

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 18

All Good Things Need a Resolution

After Yang's parents found about her escape, they moved quickly to find her. Immediately, they headed to the city they found her last time. They checked the house, but found out that it was owned by someone else. The next place they went to was Blake's house. They got out of the car and banged on the door, demanding to be let in. Blake walked to the door and opened it up.

"Where is she?"

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

"You don't need to know. Where are you hiding her? Yang, come out!" They stepped into Blake's house and searched the place. However, it ended quite quickly when Yang walked out of the kendo room to see Blake running towards her and her parents just across the living room.

"Yang, please. Make them stop." Blake ran behind Yang and stayed close. She clenched the back of shirt and kept her in her reach this time.

"This is ridiculous Yang. We told you to stay in your room. Why do you keep disobeying us?" Yang closed her eyes and tightened her fists.

"Shut up! You need to listen to what I have to say."

"No, we've heard enough. You're coming with us right now."

"No." Yang held her ground. "You guys don't know anything. You don't know me, you don't know what's going on. You sent me here to more responsible and to change my ways. Well, I have. You're just too blind to see it. All you see is a troublesome girl that has no chance at change and you're wrong. I have changed. You blamed me for my grandmother's death when she died of natural causes. If anything, I made her life better. I gave her more of a reason to live. I kept her company and she taught me more than you guys ever did. You want change, you want responsibility. Well, here it is. I'm standing up to you now because I know I'm right and nothing will change that. You've been inexistent to me as parents and I'm tired of it. I'm 18 years old and it's time for you guys to let me go. I'm not going to listen to you no matter what you say because you have nothing to back up what you're saying. I'm happy here. I feel different here. Why can't you see that?" As Blake stood behind Yang, she felt her body tremble. She was shocked because she's never felt this feeling from Yang before. She's always been calm and collected so this was starting to scare her.

Her father walked over to her in silence. As he stood in front of her with a look seriousness, Yang gulped and prepared for what was to come. He grabbed her by the hair and began to drag her to the front door.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Come on Yang. I'm tired of this crap. It's obvious that you haven't learned anything." As she was being pulled to the front door, she tried to release her father's grip, but it was too strong. She looked back and reached for Blake as they grew further away again. Blake looked at her as tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Blake!" However, this time, things were going to be different. Blake tightened her fists and ran at Yang's father.

"Let her go! Please, why are you doing this?!" She grabbed his shoulder and pounded on his chest as hard as she could. As they neared the door, his patience hit its limit. He grabbed Blake by the throat and pushed her down to the ground. She hit the ground hard and grabbed her head.

For Yang, all of it happened so slowly. She watched Blake fall to the ground, without a hand to help her. She watched Blake hit the ground with no cushion to support her. A tear fell from Yang's eyes as her father kept dragging her to the front door. She shut her eyes as tight as she could.

This can't be happening. Not again. I have to make things right.

She opened her eyes and they turned red. She gripped his wrist and turned it over, causing him to lose grip of Yang's hair. Once he let go, she kicked him behind the knee, causing him to fall to his knees. She got behind him and brought his arm far behind his back.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing?!" He looked up at Yang and then suddenly widened his eyes.

"You listen and you listen closely. I'm not going anywhere with you people. I've lost too much of my life, having to try ad please the two of you, but that ends now. Do you see what you've done? You've hurt her. You know what I've done? I've protected her, multiple times, from things you wouldn't understand. And now, you've brought pain upon us both. I could break your arm right now, but I'm gonna be the responsible one this time. I don't know you two and you don't know me. You may think you do, but you don't. What I want you to do is leave this place and never come back. I don't want to see either of your faces again. Do you understand?" Yang picked her father off the floor and pushed him outside. "I'm not your daughter and you're not my parents!" She slammed the door shut and tended to Blake. "Blake, are you okay," she asked while putting her hand on Blake's head.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this again." Blake put her hand on Yang's cheek and smiled.

"You've definitely changed."

"What do you mean?" Blake put her hand on Yang's cheek.

"You've changed."

Outside, her father was still on the ground while her mother was helping him up. He kept his eyes on the front door, hoping she would come back and say she was wrong.

"Come on honey, let it go. I think she's right." He shook her off of him and walked towards the car in silence. He got in, buckled his seatbelt, and continued to look at the door. Her mother made her way into the car and they drove back home. All throughout the car ride, her father kept his eyes straight ahead, not paying attention to anything else that was going on around him.

When they got home, he walked into the house with the lights off and sat on the couch. Not far behind him, her mother walked in and turned on the lights to see him sitting alone, deep in thought. She walked to the couch and sat next to him. She grabbed his hand and he finally looked up at her.

"I know you want what's best for her, but I think we made the right choice. She is 18. There's really nothing we can do anymore. She's an adult now. We have to stop treating her like our little girl. You have to stop treating her like a little girl." She kissed him on the cheek and he started to cry.

"I'm such a horrible father." He plopped his head into her chest and she consoled him the best she could.

"No you're not. You're an amazing father. You've done everything for the sake of our daughters. You've been so selfless for us and we are so thankful for it."

"Then how do you explain what happened to Ruby? She was so young. There was nothing we could do. There was nothing I could do. We tried everything, but nowhere was I able to offer her my help."

"Things happen sweety. I know that our little girl is much happier now."

Still crying, "She was 4. Why did she have to leave us at such a young age? She had so much to live for. I was going to show her the world."

"I know, but we need to let that go. For all of our sakes."

"I chose to not let Ruby's death affect me, but in turn, it affected Yang much more. Ever since she lost her little sister, she's changed. I tried to do everything I could to make her feel like this was home again…" She stopped him.

"You tried to bring back Ruby through Yang. You sheltered her through those tough years and because of that, she grew further apart from us. We did everything we could to keep her close to us, but it only made things worse. I think it's our fault for the way Yang is, but honestly, I think she's changed. What do you think?" He wiped his eyes.

"I think you're right. I think it's time we changed."

"Hey, for old times' sake, let's look at some of our old photos. She stood up and went to grab their old photo album.

Inside, there were tons of pictures of their whole family. Mother, father, Yang, and Ruby; all together looking happier than ever. The birth of Yang and how she had a full head of hair right as she came out. This brought some laughs to the both of them. Photos of the two of them sharing their life with their beloved daughter. When they turned the page, the memories started to come back even more as they saw the pictures of little Ruby in her mother's arm. She was so small and so innocent. After that, the album was filled with pictures of Ruby and Yang together doing all sorts of things together from playing with toys to swarming their father. Now was when the tears started to form. She looked at her husband and wiped a falling tear from his face.

"Come on, this is supposed to be happy."

"I'm sorry." They turned the page and immediately, both of them started to tear up. It was a picture of Ruby in a hospital bed with Yang sitting on a chair next to her sleeping the night away. Even though Ruby was in the hospital, she still looked so peaceful and happy.

"Do you remember this one?"

"How could I forget?" They couldn't stay on that page too long because it only made it harder for them to stay happy about all of this. Every page and every photo after that one was exactly the same. It was Yang being hugged by her father, but Yang's face always looked annoyed. None of them were just about Yang or Yang with her mother. It was all about Yang and her father.

After a few minutes, they finally reached the end of the photo album. Yang's mother looked up in happiness. On the other hand, her father covered his eyes and started to cry again.

"It's all my fault. You're right. I tried to use Yang as an excuse to bring back Ruby. Yang was right. I don't know her at all." It was too late for him. The tears started to fall like rain. Her mother hugged him and tried to calm him down.

"All that matters is that you loved our daughters with all your heart. Nothing can change that." As the night went on, it was filled with sadness and tears inside their house.

Back at Blake's place, Blake decided to go to bed early. Yang, on the other hand, was pacing the house, thinking about what happened. In her head, she knew that everything she said was the truth and that it came from the heart. She was right and she was so thankful that her parents are leaving her alone.

Out of nowhere, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her phone, looking through endless photos until she reached one that was calling to her. It was a selfie of her and Ruby, sitting on the hospital bed. They both looked very happy. She put her hand over her mouth as tears started to form. All of this time, she totally forgot about her sister and tonight was the first night she finally remembered her. She quickly ran to a box in the back of the house that had all of her other things.

She found the box and rummaged through it, hoping to find what she was looking for. She dug through the entire box until she reached the very bottom where an old photo album was sitting. She pulled it out slowly and brushed off the dust and sat down.

Our Family. That's what was written on the front. Yang opened up the book to see all kinds of photos of her with her parents. She couldn't help but smile at how small she was and how happy she looked. Page by page, she started to realize there was a time in her life where she was happy with her parents. After she turned a couple of pages, she came to the page where Ruby was born. It was filled with photos of Ruby in her mother's arms right after her birth. Yang ran her finger over Ruby's picture. She was so small and so cute.

The next dozen pictures were all about Ruby and how innocent she was. Yang would appear occasionally, looking down at Ruby as she was sleeping. So far, her favorite picture was Yang looking at the camera with her finger pointing at Ruby, wondering why she was still there. A tear fell from her eye and she quickly wiped it away.

Yang reached the middle of the album and that was when Ruby and Yang started to play together. They went to the park, they were in the pool; they were everywhere, always together. The funny thing was that her parents weren't in any of these pictures. They were all about Ruby and Yang in their toddler age.

Next was the hardest part for her. Yang turned the page and saw Ruby in a hospital bed, looking out the window by herself. All over the page was her in the hospital and the rest of her family surrounding her. She turned another page and saw the same picture that was on her phone. Another tear formed and fell onto the photo.

"Oh Ruby, you were the best sister anyone could ask for."

Once that part of her life passed, she browsed another interesting part. The photos started to become scarce in appearance, but every time she saw one, it was a picture of her and her father. However, Yang never looked happy. Her father was always looking at the camera with a smile while Yang had a sad face on and constantly looked away. She closed the book and put her hand over her mouth.

"And that's where the memories stop." She pulled her phone out again and looked at that picture as tears started to form. However, they weren't tears of sadness. They were of joy. Yang stood up, put the album back in the box and went back to Blake's room.

She opened the door and saw that Blake was asleep, with her head facing the wall. Yang silently walked to the bed and got in behind her. She put her arm over Blake's body and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good night Blake."

End of Chapter 18


	19. Chapter 19

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 19

You What?

Once the conflict with Yang's parents finally ended, Blake and Yang were able to return to school with clear minds and happy faces. It was nearing the middle of the second semester so things were slowly starting to become more serious as things went on. When they got into class, it started out like any normal day. The daily announcements were called, but there was something different about them. Yang was actually listening this time.

"Alright class, now I know you don't want to talk about it, but it's definitely that time of year. Time to start thinking about where you'll be heading off to after this year." The whole class groaned at the topic, even Yang did. She definitely chose the best day to listen to the daily announcements. "There are great schools all over the place. You just need to apply everywhere and hope for the best. We actually have a perfect example with us right now. Blake, would you stand up?" Now, Yang was becoming really attentive. "Ms. Belladonna, here, has already been accepted to University of Vale, Beacon." The whole class started to chat amongst themselves. Yang was by herself, but she overheard things about Beacon and how it was the most pristine school in the country. Yang leaned over to a random person.

"So what's the big deal about Beacon?"

"Are you serious? It's the best place to go to school. It's like 300 miles away from here and only like 10 people in the country get accepted." They went back to talking to the other classmates and Yang just slunk back into her seat. In her head, she was thinking about how impossible it was for her to get into a school like that. She looked to the front of the class and Blake took a seat.

"So I hope you all have an idea because time's running out. Also, staying on the same note, make sure we're all studying for finals. You guys aren't off the hook yet." All Yang could think of when she said that was crap. "Moving on, I hope those who attended had a great time at the winter dance because the school will be hosting a spring dance right after finals, the day before graduation so make sure you gentlemen pick your lovely lady before they're all taken." Yang groaned and slunk back into her chair as class began to start.

This semester, the school decided put in an hour study session right after lunch, providing its students the time to study with friends on campus. When the lunch bell rang, everybody ran out as fast as they could. Blake and Yang were the last ones to leave, as always. Yang caught up with Blake who was heading to her locker.

"So Blake, I don't mean to be a hassle, but would you mind studying with me again?"

"Sure, why would you think you're being a hassle?"

"Well, I just don't want you to think I'm lazy and can't do these kinds of things on my own."

"Yang, it's totally fine, and no, I don't think that way about you. I know you're willing and able to do all of this stuff." Yang smiled as they made it to Blake's locker. Her locker was a little different from the others. They had it custom made to be a key lock while the others were combination lock. She opened her locker and Yang leaned against the nearby ones as she rummaged around to try and find what she was looking for. Out of nowhere, some guy cut in between Blake and Yang. He stuck his hand out and leaned against the locker while brushing his hair back.

"So Blake, I hear the dance is coming up and you don't have a date. You, uh, wanna go with me?" Yang was disgusted by this guy's cool guy act. On the other hand, Blake was speechless. She felt like she was being trapped in a corner with no escape. The guy kept getting closer, asking her the same question and she never responded. Yang gripped his shoulder and threw him out of the way.

"Nice try slick, but she's too good for you."

"You know Yang, if you weren't such a jerk, you'd totally be my girl."

"Ha! You keep thinking that." The guy stood there in anger and Yang turned back towards Blake. Did you get what you wanted?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Okay, let's get out of here." She put her arm around Blake's shoulder and walked off, giving that guy the death glare.

The two of them decided to eat lunch and study at the same time to maximize their time. They went into the library and no one was in there so it made it feel really peaceful. Yang pulled out her math and history textbook and went to it. Blake pulled out a novel and started to read it. At first, Yang stuck to her books, but eventually, her eyes trailed to Blake's book.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Nothing. Hey, you need to study."

"Come on, let me read some."

"Haha, I don't think you'd be able to read this."

"What? Are you calling me dumb?"

"No, why would you think that? Yang, come on, study. I don't want you to fail at the last moment of the year."

"Alright."

Yang went back to her books and Blake did the same. All this stupid stuff about war and numbers. It was so hard for her to focus, but she tried her best. After a while, Yang decided to break the silence again.

"So Blake, uh, you're going to UV Beacon?" She dropped her book.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it."

"Why? Isn't it like a big deal to go there?"

"Eh, not really. Just go back to your studying." She pulled her book back up to her face. However, Yang knew something was up. She grabbed the top of Blake's book and pulled it down to the table.

"What's wrong? You're hiding something from me. You know you can tell me."

"No, no. I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice was panicking and her face was turning red. Yang closed her books and grabbed Blake's hands.

"Blake, I'm not gonna study until you tell me what's up?" Blake turned her head away from Yang, but Yang kept staring at her. After a few seconds, Blake sighed and looked back.

"Fine. I'll tell you. In the beginning, that was the place I wanted to go to more than anything in this world, but things happened and now, I don't want to go there anymore."

"You what?!" Yang stood up. She immediately put her hand over her mouth as she looked at the librarian who was giving her the death glare. She sat back down and took a deep breath. "What do you mean you don't want to go there? I thought it was considered an honor to go there."

"It is, it's just… I don't want to leave you." Yang was caught off guard.

"Blake, I…" Blake stood up and ran out as quickly as she could, leaving her book behind. Yang couldn't do anything, but watch her leave on her own. Once she cleared the library, she turned back to her table and grabbed the book. She turned it over to read what it was about, but was immediately stopped. It was brail. "Ah, so that's what she meant."

The study session ended and everyone returned back to class. When Yang got back, she noticed that Blake didn't come back. Hm, I wonder where she is. The rest of the school day, Yang spent her time looking out the window, watching the sun get closer and closer to the horizon. Finally, the bell rang and everyone groaned as the day was finally over. Yang grabbed her things and walked out.

As she walked down the halls, she was stopped by numerous guys, asking her out to the dance. For each guy, she gave the same response: Move it, I don't have time for you. She quickly made her way off campus and back to Blake's house. She opened the door and dropped her things.

"Blake! Blake, you here?!" She didn't hear anything. She walked through the house and didn't see her. Yang went to the back of the house, but she wasn't in the kendo room. To no surprise, Yang found her in her room sitting on her bed in a ball. "Blake, what's wrong? You didn't come back to class after lunch?" She sat down next to Blake, but Blake didn't respond. Her head was still in her arms. "Blake, please, tell me what's wrong?"

"In class, when our teacher told the class that I was accepted to Beacon, I had a memory and a vision."

"What do you mean?"

Sniffling, "When you were taken back with your parents, I fell apart. I didn't know where things were. It felt like I had lost all of my senses. It was the worst thing I've ever gone through. And when I was reminded about Beacon, I had a vision that the same thing will happen if I go and leave you."

"That won't happen, Blake. You can't think like that."

"But what if it does," she answered quickly. Yang climbed behind Blake and hugged her from behind.

"It won't happen because we'll be separating on good terms. It won't bring us pain. It'll bring us happiness in that we'll know that we'll both be fine. I want you to attend Beacon. I know it'll be perfect for you." Blake turned around with tears in her eyes.

"But I don't want to leave you." She hugged Yang and started to cry. As she was in her arms, Yang wrapped her arms around her and tried to hold in the tears as well.

"I know Blake. I don't want to think about leaving you either." She pulled Blake off of her and put on a smile. "We'll just have to make these last few months the best days of our lives'. Okay?"

Wiping the tears from her face, "Okay." Yang smiled and brought Blake back into her body.

End of Chapter 19


	20. Chapter 20

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 20

We're What?

The days went on and Blake and Yang managed to stay close with each other. Every day during lunch, they spent their time in the library, trying to make sense of what Yang was studying for. It was the same as last time and with another subject: History and math.

As everyone in the school was shifting gears into study mode, the topic of the spring dance was still in everyone's heads. Left and right, guys were asking girls to the dance and they were all saying yes. However, Blake and Yang were a different story. They were constantly bombarded by requests. They rejected all of them, but it seemed as if they would never stop.

On the current day of school, everyone was desperately waiting for lunch. Classes were picking up their intensity since finals were right around the corner. Yang, surprisingly, was actually focusing pretty well in class. She was having a hard time with the material, but she was actually there during class.

When the lunch bell finally rang, everyone's arms went in the air and the room filled with groans of relief and exhaustion. The class was dismissed and everyone made their way to the cafeteria. Blake and Yang were last to leave as always. This time, Blake waited at the door for Yang.

"So, we heading to library?"

"Um, how about we pay attention to lunch this time? Are you okay with that?"

"Sure, as long as you help me study, I don't mind." Blake smiled and latched onto Yang's arm as they made their way to the cafeteria.

When they got there, they were surprised. They never really spent their time there, but seeing a huge hoard of people really surprised them. They got in line to get their food and searched around for an empty table. They finally found one and parked there for lunch. Immediately, guys started to swarm them, asking if they had a date to the dance or if they wanted to go with them. Blake never said anything, but Yang was always the one to part the crowd. She simply said she wasn't interested and neither was Blake. None of them ever believed Yang, but they always left when she raised her voice. So far, their idea of enjoying lunch wasn't going so well.

There wasn't much to talk about them since they lived together, but Yang made sure to not mention Beacon or anything to do with it so they resorted to talking about finals and other school stuff. Yang constantly looked around to really see how many people actually ate inside the cafeteria.

"Jeez, did you know that there were always this many people in here?"

"Well, I never come in here, but I can sense it since I usually eat by myself or with you."

"Right." Yang continued to eat her food, but Blake seemed to be a little on edge. She was working herself up to asking Yang a serious question, but she could never find the right moment to do so when all these guys were constantly swarming them.

"Hey, uh, Yang?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Um, do you…" A guy cut right in between them and stared down Yang.

"Hey there sexy, you wanna go to the dance with me?" She shoved her hand in his face and pushed him out of the way.

"Sorry, do I what?"

"Do you…" Blake sighed and dropped her head. "Do you need me to help you study today?"

"Oh yeah, about that, there are some new things I got to which I'm having some difficulties. You don't mind do you?"

"Of course not," she said with a fake smile. She closed her eyes and gently pounded the table with her fist. Why can't I do it? Why can't I ask her?

The two of them finished their food pretty quickly and left the cafeteria before everyone else to try and get a good seat inside the library. On their way to the library, Blake stayed behind Yang, constantly thinking about how and when she should ask her. Now wouldn't be a good time because it just wouldn't seem right. She was running out of options because every guy in the school was constantly attacking them with requests. She tightened her fists. Fine, I'm gonna ask her when we're done studying.

They got to the library and were immediately discouraged. It was already filled with people. All the good seats were taken and the only ones left were in the corner. They sighed and made their way to them. Once there, they plopped down onto the seats and took out their books. Yang told Blake about what she was talking about and Blake slowly started to understand Yang's struggle. Blake showed her some the ways she does those problems and they really helped out Yang.

"Gosh Blake, I'm really jealous. You know all of this stuff way better than me and I have full function of my eyes. No offense."

"It's alright. Some of this stuff just comes easier to certain people."

"Well, it seems that everything we learn comes easy to you."

"Ah well, you know." Blake turned her head. Should I ask her now? It seems about right. We're in good moods and no one's around. She took a deep breath. Alright, here it goes. She turned back around and immediately felt the presence of numerous guys around her; both her and Yang. Questions were coming from all angles and Blake didn't know what to do.

"You should go with me."

"Nah, this guy's lame. I'm the obvious choice."

"Come on, all the other girls are taken. Just go with me." Blake was looking around, trying to find some place, but she felt guys all around her. Yang, on the other hand, was getting really annoyed by the constant question of will you go to the dance with me?

"Enough." She stood up, shoved the crowd of guys out of her way, and walked to Blake. She cleared the crowd around Blake and grabbed her hand.

"W-What?" Yang took her hand and got on one knee in front of her.

"Blake Belladonna, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the dance?" All of the guys went berserk. The librarian walked over to the corner to escort all of the guys out of the library. "Well?"

"Yang, I…" She sighed.

"What? Do you not want to?"

"No, it's just… I was going to ask _you._"

"Oh, well I asked you first."

"That's not fair. I had the idea first."

"But I asked first. So?"

"I'd love to." Yang smiled and got back up on her feet and went back to her seat where they continued to study together until class resumed.

When the bell rang to return to class, everyone was beat. They were all studying like crazy as finals were approaching, come that upcoming Monday. On the other hand, Blake and Yang seemed to be enjoying themselves. Once the school day was over, everyone packed up their things and went home to enjoy their weekend, even though most of the students were probably going to be studying. While Blake was packing her things, Yang grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out the school.

"Yang, where are we going?"

"You'll see." Yang dragged Blake through the city and to a bus station where a bus was loading up its passengers. The two got on board as fast as they could and headed to the nearby city.

"Come on Yang. Just tell me where we're going."

"I told you Blake. It's a secret."

An hour went by and they finally made it to their destination. Once they got off the bus, Blake could smell that she was somewhere new. Yang grabbed her hand and pulled her along again. Yang looked around and around and eventually found the mall. They ran in at full speed and went to find the best dress shop they could. Once Yang found the right place, she stopped Blake right at the entrance.

"Okay, you ready to pick out your dress?" Blake blushed.

"What?! It seems so sudden. I don't even have any money.

"You don't need money. I'm paying for it all. I am the one who asked you to the dance so I'm responsible for all of it." Blake smiled.

"Yang, that's so sweet. Okay, um, what color should we be?"

"I'll leave that up to you." Blake sighed.

"Alright." Yang stuck out her arm and Blake latched onto it. She guided Blake through the store. However, Blake's way of shopping was very interesting that even made Yang sort of confused. Blake would randomly stop in front of a rack of dresses and start to feel them. Their texture, their length; somehow, she knew what she was looking for. And to Yang's surprise, every dress Blake inspected was very beautiful

After a few minutes, Blake stopped in front of one dress and inspected it very carefully, even more than the past ones. Something about it spoke to her that it was the right one. Yang tried her best not to look because she wanted to be surprised, but she only did to tell Blake what color it was.

"I like this one." Yang took a quick peek.

"That one's black."

"Good, I like black." She pulled it off the rack and Yang looked away as fast as she could. She looked around for someone who worked there to help her with the dress. When she finally flagged someone down, she walked over to them and Yang pulled her over to the side.

"So, I think she wants to try it on, but I kind of want to be surprised so could you help her out with it."

"Sure, of course."

"And one more thing, she's blind."

"Ah, got it. I'll be sure to take extra care of her."

"Thank you." The worker smiled and walked over to Blake where the rest was unknown for Yang. She took Blake into the back and did all of the things required for dress fitting.

… In the back of the store…

The woman took all of Blake's measurements and checked the dress. By some miracle, it was exactly Blake's size. She took her into a fitting room and had her try it on. Once she slipped into the dress, something clicked.

"Oh my God, honey, you look so beautiful."

"Really?" Blake blushed and brushed her hair out of the way. "It just feels really good."

"Oh trust me, it looks really good." Blake spun her body around and moved to test how mobile she could be in it. "Sorry for asking, but is that you're girlfriend out there?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "She's the most wonderful person I've ever met."

"Aw, well, you have wonderful taste. She's beautiful."

"I know." The woman was so tempted to ask how she knew, but then she remembered what Yang told her. She simply smiled as Blake was enjoying her dress.

"Would you like me to describe the dress to you in more detail?"

"No thank you. I think I know what it looks like and I think it's perfect. I'll take it."

"Great, excellent selection. Now, let's move onto shoes." They exited the fitting room and made their way to the shoe area. Blake was still in her dress and she was surprised at how easily it was to walk around in this kind of dress. "Do you have any idea of what kind of shoes you want to wear?"

"Um, heels."

"Oh, you like the sexy look."

"Haha, not really. It's just that she's kind of taller than me and I want to be able to be near her height."

"Ah, got it." The woman peeked out of the back of the store to see how tall Yang was. After she got a quick glance, she picked a pair of heels that would do just fine. Blake tried them on and tested them out. Again, it was pretty amazing at how she was able to walk around with them on.

"They feel really good. How does it look?"

"There are no words to describe how beautiful you look. Your girlfriend is one lucky girl." Blake smiled and started to undress.

… Back in the store…

After about an hour or so, Blake finally came out with the dress and shoes in bag and Yang walked over to her.

"So everything good?"

"Yep, I'll take care of you guys up in the front." The lady guided them through the store and to the cash register.

"So do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you Yang."

"Of course." Yang paid for the dress and made their way out.

"Wait, what about you? You didn't get a dress."

"It's okay. I'll get it some other time. I still got a week."

"Are you sure?"

"It's fine. Don't worry about me."

"Okay." Yang put her arm around Blake's waist and the two made their way back to the bus where they returned home.

End of Chapter 20


	21. Chapter 21

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 21

Finals

The next week started and it was time for the last stretch of the year: Finals. Everyone was dreading it. Morning came around and the whole town was silent as students made their way to school, saying nothing, but worrying about everything in their minds.

Yang woke up and was immediately surprised. Blake wasn't next to her. She got out of bed and walked around the house to see if she was getting ready, but there was no sign of her. She grabbed her clothes and got ready. As she was about to make her way out of the house, she saw something on the kitchen counter. She walked over to it to see a note left for her.

_Dear Yang,_

_Don't worry about me. I'm perfectly fine. I totally forgot to tell you, but the University asked me to visit their campus today and I didn't want to worry you. By the time you get to this point, you're probably thinking about chasing after me, but don't worry. The school will take good care of me and I'll be back in your arms later today. About finals, I already took them. I told our teachers beforehand and they let me do them. As for you, just relax and take a deep breath. I know you'll do great. To help you get through the day, I made you a little bento box lunch. I hope you enjoy it. Good luck and I'll be back home soon._

_Love,_

_Blake_

She put the note down and looked at the box she left for her. She smiled and shook her head. She's way too on top of things. She grabbed the box and headed off the school.

The day itself was a pretty good one, but when she made it to school, everything changed. The sunlight disappeared and it felt like a graveyard. These were the effects of 2nd semester finals and Yang was trying to stay as calm as possible. She did all the preparation she could and she was trying to think about all the things that would happen. She walked into class and it was silent. No one looked up and no one said a word. She took her seat and waited for the bell to ring.

Ring! She took a deep breath. It was finally starting. First was English. Yang enjoyed this. This was the easiest subject for her so it lessened the weight on her shoulders. She was able to finish it pretty quickly while the rest of her class was struggling to finish in time. As she waited, she tried to keep her mind empty, not thinking about everything else to come at once.

The hour and a half finally came to an end and that marked the end of the first test. Immediately, Yang saw a few kids plop onto their desks from exhaustion. For her, it was only going to get tougher. There was still math, history, and science and her palms were starting to get a little sweaty as the class switched gears into the next test.

History was next. This was one of her problems subjects. It's not extremely hard for her, but it definitely provided some difficult moments. She had to remember all kinds of dates and important historical people which made it hard to concentrate on the current question she was on. However, she was able to get through it with a few minutes left to spare. This time, as she waited for the next test, she was wondering what test was going to be next. One was her arch nemesis and the other was a piece of cake. Their history teacher walked out of the room and everyone waited for the next one. Yang put her fists on the table and stared at the door. Come on. Come on. The door opened and in walked her science teacher. She rammed her head into her desk. Great.

… How Blake's day was going…

The bus ride was definitely a long one, but it finally came to an end. An announcement came on through the intercom system saying that they had arrived. Everyone on the bus cheered as they slowly made their way off the bus. Blake was especially slow since this was all new stuff for her and Yang wasn't there so she had to make sure to stay close to the group at all times. The students got off the bus and met their tour guide right outside.

"Welcome students, home to the legendary Hunters. Our motto is stay strong through adversity to overcome all obstacles. Now, before we start, you might notice that there's no school here and you're right. Our campus is located in a very secluded part of the city which will require us to go on a little hike. I hope you're all ready for an adventure." Everyone cheered. "Alright, then let's go." Without another word, she was off and everyone followed close behind.

Blake wasn't able to see it, but the group walked through a pretty dense forest and the entire trip was uphill. This interested Blake in that she wanted to know how secluded this place really was. After a few minutes, the group cleared the forest and appeared on campus. Everyone's jaws dropped to the floor. Even Blake had the same reaction. It was huge and so open and Blake could feel it.

"Welcome to the University of Vale, Beacon. The number one university in the country." Their tour guide continued to walk them through the campus where she explained all sorts of interesting things. As Blake walked through, she tried to get a sense of how things were like and it was obvious to her that everything was so big and grand. She could nearly keep up. Questions were asked all about the school and its long history. Apparently, the school was home to an ancient battle which is where it got its mascot name. Everything about it was amazing. Even though everything about it seemed too good to be true, Blake still felt a little uneasy.

She knew that this was where she was meant to be, but it didn't feel like home to her. All the things she's learned so far about the school are things she's been longing for, but something was missing. It was Yang. The thought of coming here without her made her experience a little sad. Every time she would try to get her mind off of it, something would always bring her back it.

"Oh yeah, totally. You guys can meet so many new people here. Maybe even someone you wanna spend the rest of your life with." Blake's eyes widened.

"Yang," she said quietly.

"And don't worry, we, at UV Beacon, make it out mission to make you feel right at home." Again, it happened. She put her hand over her chest and pictured Yang in her head.

… Back at school…

Yang finished her science final and started to feel the fatigue. It made her feel even worse since the one test she's worried about the most is next. She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. She was trying to think of some way to calm herself down when she had saw something in her head. It was Blake. She was telling her to relax and stay calm. Her arms were open and she had a smile on her face. Yang smiled back and aimed her arms at Blake, unaware that she was doing this in real life with her arms stretched towards the ceiling. She opened her eyes and quickly brought her arms down in embarrassment. Alright, I can do this. Thanks Blake. The door opened and her math teacher made his way into the classroom. He passed out the tests and hell began.

At first, Yang felt good. All the problems she came across were things that she understood so she blew right through them. When she reached the halfway point of the test, that's when the pain started to kick in. All sorts of complicated problems were being asked and she was trying to muster up all the memory she had of these problems. She put her hands on her hand and concentrated as hard as she could. The room was silent and the ticks of the clock were pinning Yang down. For some reason, it seemed that time went extremely fast this test. Her eyes constantly lifted from the test to see more and more people finish the test before her. She looked at the clock and saw that she only had a small amount of time left. She had to hurry it up.

Seconds went by and time was up. Yang finished her last problem and chucked her pencil on the table as her head fell on the table. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Phew! It's over. Now I get to wait." The math teacher left and their home room teacher returned to the room.

"Well, it's over." Everyone cheered. Yang would have cheered, but she was too drained to give any emotion. "The results of the test will be posted on Wednesday so don't forget to come by and check how you did. Graduation will be in a week. Your gowns will be downstairs in the gym if you do pass. The spring dance will be this Friday. Don't forget about that. That'll be the last time you guys get to make some lasting memories with your friends so don't waste it. Well, good luck and it was an honor to be your home room teacher." Everyone, out of nowhere, stood up and bowed to her.

"Thank you!" She smiled and left the room without another word. Once she did, everyone cheered and gathered their stuff as fast as possible. Yang, on the other hand, was still a little slow. The impact of that last test was definitely a killer for her. She grabbed her things and was the last one out the door.

When Yang made it out of the building, she saw that the sun was approaching the horizon. I wonder if Blake is home yet. She held onto her things and ran as fast as she could. It took her only a few minutes to get home and when she did, she blazed through the door and dropped her things.

"Blake, you home?!" There was no response. Blake?" She walked into the house and looked in the living room and her bedroom, but she wasn't there. She came back to the living room and plopped on the couch. "Aw, she's not home." She fell onto her side and closed her eyes. Boy am I tired. And with those thoughts, Yang quickly fell asleep.

After a few hours, Blake's bus finally returned home. She made it back to her house. She quietly opened the door and called out Yang's name quietly, but there was no response. As she walked into the house, she heard a soft noise that was coming from the couch. She walked over to it and could tell that it was Yang. Was she waiting for me? Were finals that tiring? Even though she thought these things, she didn't care. She went to a cabinet and pulled out a blanket. She walked back to Yang and laid it out over her body. She knelt down beside Yang and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good night."

End of Chapter 21


	22. Chapter 22

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 22

School's Finally Over

Morning came around and Blake rose from quite early. She got out of bed and made her way out to the living room where Yang was still sleeping. She knelt down next to Yang's head and whispered to her to see if she was awake. Yang didn't respond and Blake stood back up. She walked to the kitchen and started to prepare a special breakfast.

As she began to cook, the sounds and smells of breakfast started to fill the house. Yang was still asleep, but her nose would constantly get a whiff of what Blake was cooking. This caused her to talk in her sleep.

"Mmm, Blake, that smells so good. Can I have some?" While she was cooking, Blake overheard her little fantasies and couldn't help but laugh at her childish behavior. Her cooking continued and Yang started to get jittery. Her body moved around on the couch and her arms started to reach for the ceiling, asking Blake for more food.

Finally, the food was done and Blake prepared it especially for Yang. She pulled a table in front of the couch and put the food right in front of her. Yang's nose started to take in more of the food until she finally woke up. She stretched out her arms and smiled.

"Man, I had the weirdest dream that you kept making me food." Her eyes opened and was immediately surprised. "Ah, I knew it wasn't a dream." Blake rubbed her head.

"Good morning."

"Good morning. What's all this about?"

"Well, I didn't get to spend time with you yesterday and it's kind of like a congratulations on finishing your finals yesterday."

"Aw, thanks, but what about you?"

"It's alright. I ate while I was preparing this for you." Yang kicked her legs out from under the blankets and put them on the floor. She stared at the food and immediately watered at the mouth. It was a breakfast sandwich with mini pancakes, hashed browns, and orange juice on the side. She couldn't wait any longer. She grabbed the fork and dug in. It only took a few seconds to finish her food. She wiped her mouth of the remaining debris and thanked Blake for the meal.

"So how was the school?"

"It was nice. It was really big and everything I hoped it would be." She immediately shied away from that comment because she knew that it wasn't true. She tried to get her mind off the subject. "So how were finals?"

"Ugh!" Yang put her hands over eyes and fell back onto her back. "That freaking math test, I swear. Math is like the bane of my existence."

"So does that mean you didn't do well?"

"No, not really. I feel like I did the best I could do, but it's just that the things on there for some reason, always get jumbled up in my head."

"Oh, well, everyone has their troubles here and there."

"I'm afraid to ask this, but how did your finals go?"

"They… were… easy," she said slowly and quietly. Yang threw her arms in the air.

"Whatever! I didn't want to know anyway."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's all over. There's nothing else I can do except wait." There was a slight pause in their conversation. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Oh yeah, huh? School's pretty much over. Wow, it seemed to go by so fast."

"Haha, not for me." Blake put her hand on her chin and tried to think of what they should do.

"How about we just go out and see where the day takes us?" Yang smiled at the idea.

"Perfect, I like it." They stood up and got ready.

Once they were both ready, they made their way out the door to see what would catch their attention first. Immediately, the heard a lot of commotion coming from the center of town so they made their way first. To their surprise, there was a pretty big farmer's market going on. They never knew this happened since they were usually in school at this time of day. They walked through and explored all sorts of things that they event had to offer.

"Ladies and gentleman, please gather around. Participant, if you feel, in the corn stalk eating contest." Blake and Yang passed by when this announcement caught their attention. "The winner will get their choice of either this adorable teddy bear or a coupon of $50 at today's farmer's market. Who's brave enough to take this challenge?" Without saying anything, Yang ran off to the sign-up board.

"Wait, Yang, where are you going?"

"Don't worry. Just stay here and watch." Blake crossed her arms for she knew she couldn't watch whatever was happening. She stood there alone and waited. After a few minutes, the announcer got back on the mic.

"Alright, it looks like we have a group of determined people here today. What's your name?" He went down the row of people participating in the game. "And yours?"

"Yang Xiao Long." Blake's eyes widened as she heard that name over the speakers. What is she doing?

"Alright, the game's simple. You all have a 3-foot long corn stalk in front of you. The first one to completely eat their stalk will be the winner. You ready?" The contestants looked at their corn stalks and prepared themselves. "Go!" They all picked their stalk up and started to ravage through them. The crowds were going nuts as it seemed the competition was close.

Even though Blake couldn't see what was happening, she was able to pick up on how the crowd was reacting. The announcer was also providing a play-by-play on the competition so Blake wasn't missing a thing. As it went on, she caught herself getting lost in the moment. She was shouting out Yang's name and trying to make her voice heard. 2 minutes went by and suddenly, a thud came from the competitors table.

"We have a winner, Yang Xiao Long!" Blake raised her arms and cheered as loud as she could. Once that was over, Yang made her way down the stage and to Blake.

"Sorry, I kind of wanted to try it. I didn't know I'd actually win."

"It's okay. That was actually pretty fun." Yang smiled.

"Here, this is for you." She put the teddy bear in Blake's hand.

"What is this?"

"It's a cat stuffed animal. I won it for you."

"Aw, thank you." She grabbed the cat and hugged Yang.

After that party was over, they moved along, continuing to sightsee the rest of the farmer's market and to their surprise, it was huge. There were so many more games going on. Food stands were everywhere and food vendors were selling their fresh produce. After seeing all of this food, they decided to find a good place to eat. When they got their food, they weren't disappointed. Everything about it was fresh and healthy. To Yang, it was nearly as good as Blake's food, but to Blake, it was the greatest thing she's ever had.

Once they finished their food, they moved along through the farmer's market. Not too far away, there was another huge crowd that Yang wanted to investigate. On stage, there were two people going head-to-head at a trivia game. The host was asking the questions and they had to be the first one to answer correctly.

"Plants needs water and sunlight to grow. Humans are somewhat alike except that sunlight isn't something that we rely on for our growth. What makes up that difference between humans and plants?" The two contestants were silent. "No answers?"

"Chloroplasts!" Yang turned to see Blake shout out the answer.

"Oh, do we have a volunteer in the crowds willing to take this challenge?" Blake immediately shrouded herself in the crowd, but Yang didn't let her. She grabbed Blake's wrist and raised it to the sky.

"Yes, she does!"

"Yang?"

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"Well, come on up little lady." Yang brought her hand back down and pulled her through the crowds and to the stage.

"Wait, I don't want to do this."

"Come on, you know you want to." Yang pushed Blake up onto the stage and she stood in front of the other two competitors.

"Alright, what's your name?"

"Blake Belladonna," she said nervously.

"Well Blake, if you can beat this two gentleman, you'll be awarded the farmer of the day medal. Answer three questions right and the prize is yours. Are you ready?" They put their hands on the buzzers and awaited the question. "Alright, first question. Farmers refer to measurements as acres. What is something that's similar in size?" Immediately, Blake hit the buzzer.

"A football field."

"Correct." Her opponents started to argue with each other about how slow they are. "Next question: Name the natural disaster that harms farmers the most." Her opponent buzzed in first.

"Tornados."

"Incorrect." Blake buzzed in.

"Drought."

"Correct. That's two." Again, her opponents argued each other about how stupid they were. "Possibly the last question: What crop is the most mass-produced in the country?" Both sides were quiet. It wasn't that it was a tough question, but that there were some many crops that are grown that it's nearly impossible to say the right answer. "No answers?" Blake buzzed in nervously.

"Rice?" There was a pause.

"That's correct! We have a winner!" Confetti shot everywhere and they crowds went nuts. The announcer brought out the medal and placed it around Blake's neck. "Congratulations, you are the honorary farmer of the day."

"Thank you." She walked off the stage where she was immediately pulled into Yang's arms.

"Good job. I told you'd do great." Blake pulled Yang off of her.

"You didn't say that. You said I wanted to do it. That has nothing to do with what you just said."

"Ah, well, close enough." Blake rolled her eyes and they continued on.

The day started to grow old as most of the stands were starting to tear down for the day. Yang looked to the sun and saw that the sun was approaching the horizon. She grabbed Blake by the waist and hoisted her up onto her shoulders.

"Yang, what are you doing?"

"Come on. Before the day ends, I wanna go to one more place." Yang ran off with Blake on her shoulders and took her to somewhere she couldn't make out.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the place Yang wanted to go. She set Blake down and she grabbed her hand. They approached a railing and leaned against it.

"Do you know where we are?" For Blake, it was hard to tell since she was on top of Yang the entire trip. She smelt the air, felt the railing, and listened for a familiar sound.

"Wait, are we…"

"We're at the outlook post."

"Why'd you bring me here?"

"Well, this was the first place we actually spent time together and since the school year is coming to an end, I thought we could reminiscence a little."

"You remembered," Blake said with a smile.

"Of course I remembered. That day was like the greatest day of my life." Blake hugged Yang.

"I was afraid you forgot."

"I could never forget." Blake looked at Yang and kissed her on the forehead. They spent the rest of their day at the outlook post, watching the sun clear the horizon.

The next day, Yang quickly got up and pulled Blake out of bed so they could to school early. Without any time wasted, they made their way out of the house and ran to school. When they got there, everyone else was already there. They walked into the academic building and to their classroom where the scores were posted outside on a hanging board. It took them awhile to see what they got since everyone was crowding around it, trying to find their name. Yang had Blake in hand and pushed through the crowd to see the results Yang looked for Blake's name. She didn't understand the order, but there was something weird about the list. As she looked at the scores, the numbers went from high to low, top to bottom of the page. Blake's name was second.

"How'd I do Yang?"

"You aced everything expect for math. You got a 95."

"What about you?" She looked at the list and saw the name above Blake's. It was hers.

"I aced them all."

End of Chapter 22


	23. Chapter 23

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 23

The Spring Dance

Blake and Yang cried in joy as they passed their finals. They grabbed each other's hands and ran to the gym to pick up their cap and gown. Yang helped Blake find hers. The colors were royal blue and Yang couldn't help but tear up. She did it. She actually did it. The day after their final grades were posted, Blake and Yang decided to celebrate their passing by staying home and doing nothing. Blake was so proud of Yang for not only passing the finals, but taking the number one spot in their class. Yang was still a little shocked that she did so well on the tests she didn't feel so strongly about.

Once the topic of schools finally subsided, the next topic to worry about was the dance. Blake was worried about Yang because she still didn't have her dress for the dance, but Yang kept telling her to stop worrying about her.

With only a day left until the dance, Blake woke up to an empty bed. At first, she was worried about Yang, but then immediately calmed down for there was nothing to worry about. She was probably getting her dress. After a couple of hours, the door opened and in walked Yang. Blake ran to the door.

"Hey, where were you?"

"Don't worry about it." Yang had a bag in her hand and put it behind her back, trying to hide it from Blake even though she couldn't see it anyway. She quickly made her way to the kendo room and put the bag there. When she came back, Blake had on the face of wonder.

"Did you get your dress?"

"Blake, don't worry about it. I haven't bugged you about your dress."

"Well, you kinda saw it when we were shopping." Yang sighed.

"All I saw was the color. That was it. Nothing else." Blake gave Yang a dirty look.

"Sure you did."

The two of them didn't really do anything else for the rest of that day, but inside, they were both thinking about the dance and what each of them would look like. They constantly had visions of how it would be and what would happen. This occurred the rest of the day and into their sleep. It made it a little hard for them to fall asleep because their minds were wandering endlessly about a day that were hoping they would never forget.

When the next morning came around, the two of them woke up early. They opened their eyes and started their day off to a great start.

"Good morning."

"Good morning Yang."

"You excited for today?"

"Eh, I'm kind of nervous."

"There's nothing to be nervous about. You're going with me. Don't worry." Yang kissed Blake on her forehead and they continued to look at each other while still in bed. "So I know the dance isn't for a while, but I have reservations at a special place for dinner so be sure not to eat too much before that." Blake giggled.

"Don't worry Yang. That won't be a problem. I'm more worried about you."

"Hey, let's not go there."

"Okay, I'm sorry." They both smiled. They stayed in bed for a while until they looked at the clock and saw that it turned 12:00pm. Yang let Blake get ready first. She got out of bed and made her way to the shower first.

While she was in there, she was still thinking about what Yang would be wearing and if she would look good enough for her. Having all of this in her head caused her to stay in the shower for longer than usual. Once she pulled herself back together, she got out and proceeded to get ready.

Yang was rather prompt. She was in the shower for about 10 minutes and got out immediately. Once she was done, she walked to the kendo room and got ready. She hung the bag up and looked at it for a bit.

"I think Blake will like this a lot." She unzipped the bag and inside of it was a tuxedo with a yellow vest and tie. "Oh yeah, she'll like this much more." She took the tux out of the bag and got dressed. At first, it was uncomfortable since there was a lot of clothing and it was pretty warm out, but she fought through it. She straightened her tie and made sure everything was perfect. Once everything checked out, she walked out into the living room where she waited for Blake. Yang sort of expected this since she was blind and she wanted to look pretty. She looked at the clock and it was approaching 4:00pm. Her reservations were at 5:00pm. She didn't want to rush Blake, but she was starting to get a little antsy.

After a few minutes went by, Blake's door opened and Yang turned to see the grand reveal. In walked Blake with a long, beautiful black dress and her hair was beautifully curled. Her dress had jeweled studs around her waist and her breast line was moderately low. Her shoulder straps were thin and when she turned around, Yang's jaw almost fell to the floor. Her back was completely exposed and Blake was holding the back of it.

"Yang, could you zip up the back of this? I can't reach."

"Sure." She stood up and walked over to Blake. She grabbed the zipper and pulled it up as high as it could go which wasn't very high. She turned Blake around to face. "Blake, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life. You definitely know how to choose a dress." Blake started to blush.

"Enough about me. I wanna see your dress."

"Uh, about that…" Blake put her hands on Yang's shoulders and was immediately surprised. Her hands ran down Yang's arms and then onto her chest.

"You're not… wearing a dress?"

"Yeah, I'm in a tux. I thought you'd like this better."

"But I wanted both of us to be in beautiful dresses." She dropped her head in sadness. Yang grabbed her hand and she looked back up.

"You wanna know why I chose to wear a tux instead of a dress?" Yang paused and waited for a response from Blake. "Because today is all about you. You're my princess and I'm your knight. I want everyone to see how beautiful you are."

"Aw Yang, thank you." Tears started to fall from her eyes. Yang quickly wiped them off of her face.

"Come on, it's too early to be crying."

"I'm sorry. What time is it?"

"It's 4:30pm. You wanna go eat?"

"Yes, I'm starving." They made their way to the door and walked out. They had to walk a little slower than usual since Blake was in heels, but she handling it pretty well. As they were walking, Blake put her arm around Yang's, signaling to everyone that she was hers.

They walked into town and everywhere she turned, Yang saw couples everywhere heading off to dinner before the dance and no one looked as good as Blake. She gave herself a little tap on the back as they finally arrived at the restaurant.

"So what is this place? I don't recognize it."

"It's new. Welcome to the Taste of Italy." Yang grabbed her hand and walked her in. Immediately, Blake was amazed by the atmosphere of the restaurant. It seemed big and very sophisticated.

"Are you sure you can pay for this?"

"Blake, come on. Don't worry about that. Just sit down and enjoy the food."

"Alright." When they arrived at the table, Yang pulled the chair out from the table and Blake sat down. Yang took her seat the waiter handled them for the rest of the night. When their food arrived, they weren't disappointed. Everything about it was divine. The food was delicious and the service was fantastic. The restaurant even had a small band that was playing Italian music throughout the night. Once they were done, Yang paid for the meal and they made their way to the school.

When they go to the campus, everyone was walking towards the gym and when they got there, the sight was incredible. The theme was under the sea so everything was ocean related. The dance floor was riddled with people and tables were everywhere where people were chatting and having a good time. Yang guided Blake to a nearby table where they took their seats.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know, but I really like the ambiance in here. It's really cute and comfortable."

"Yeah, it is pretty impressive." Yang looked around to get a better picture of what the place looked like and when she turned around, she saw Blake surrounded by a crowd of guys.

"Damn, you gorgeous honey."

"I'll show you a good time."

"How about we take this party outside." Blake was flustered. She had nowhere to go so she put her hands over her face and tried to block everything out.

"Just go away," she said softly.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." A guy grabbed her wrist. "I'll rock your boat tonight." Her eyes widened as he was about to pull her off her chair. Out of nowhere, Yang burst through the crowd and grabbed the guy by the shoulder. He turned around and she immediately decked him square in the face.

"Back off you perves. None of you are good enough for her. Come on Blake, let's go." Yang stuck out her hand. Blake was still a little scared.

"Where are we going?" Yang smiled.

"To the dance floor." Blake shyly put her hand on Yang's and she pulled Blake off her chair and onto the dance floor. As they stood there, Blake's cheeks were red and she was very scared.

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know how to dance."

"Don't worry about it. It's easy. Just take my hands and I'll show you the rest." Blake grabbed Yang's hands and Yang immediately pushed and pulled their arms back and forth to the upbeat song. "Just relax." In the beginning, Blake was very stiff, but after a while, she felt how calm Yang was and started to relax herself. "There you go." They pushed and pulled each other's arm more and more until Yang let go of Blake's right hand and spun her around. She was caught off guard by that move and fell into Yang's body. "Don't worry. I got you." Blake looked up and Yang wrapped her arms around Blake. The song ended and everyone clapped.

"Alright you party people, we're gonna slow things a bit and let you lovers come onto the dance floor and share a special dance. Here we go guys." The drummer kicked the bass drum eight times and then song started to a slow, sweet song. Yang looked down at Blake.

"Blake, may I have this dance?"

"I don't know how to slow dance either."

"I'll show you. Give me your left hand. And put your right hand on my shoulder." Once she did, Yang put her right hand on Blake's waist. "Now, all we do is step right and then to the left while slowly spinning."

"Like this?"

"Perfect." They held each other hand and hand and enjoyed the song.

"Dry your eyes now, baby

Broken wings won't hold you down

You'll take flight soon, baby

You'll be lifted up

And you'll be there."

"Blake, I love you." She looked up at Yang.

"I love you too." Blake let go of Yang's hand and put her hands on Yang's cheek as she kissed her on the lips. Yang wrapped her hands around Blake's waist as they continued to share this moment together. They pulled away and Blake put her hands around Yang's neck as the danced for the rest of the song. When the song came to an end, it immediately segued into the next song with a drum fill.

"Dream of anything;  
I'll make it all come true.  
Everything you need  
Is all I'll have for you.  
I'm forever  
Always by your side.  
Whenever you need a friend,  
I'm never far behind."

Yang grabbed Blake's hands from behind her neck and spun her around again. Blake couldn't help but giggle for this time, she was ready for it. They continued to dance together in their goofy fashion with no care in the world. Blake was constantly laughing and Yang was doing all sorts of odd things.

Once the song ended, the band decided to take a break and Blake and Yang returned to their seats. When they got back, a group of girls walked up to Blake.

"Hey Blake, you look really beautiful tonight." Blake blushed and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Thank you. I bet you're all dazzling yourself." They thanked her and walked off. Yang nudged Blake's shoulder.

"Hey Ms. Celebrity, don't take all the spotlight."

"Whatever." The night continued on and Blake and Yang decided to leave the dance. When they left the gym, Blake took Yang's hand as they made their way home. As they were walking, Blake started to shiver.

"Hey, are you cold?"

"No, I'm fine." Yang took off her jacket and put around Blake's shoulder.

"There's no need to lie. I'm warm enough in this stuff." Blake smiled and snuggled into Yang's jacket. As they were walking, they were looking up at the beautiful night sky when they heard a sudden crack sound and Blake cried out as she fell to the ground. Yang knelt down beside Blake. "Blake, are you okay?"

"I… I think so. But my heels just snapped." Yang lifted Blake's dress to see the damage and her shoes were broken. She touched Blake's ankles and she immediately cried out in pain.

"Oh gosh, you can't walk like this." Yang grabbed Blake by the arm and under her legs and picked her up in her arms.

"It's fine. I can walk."

"You can keep talking, but I'm not listening." They resumed their walk home and all throughout the walk, Blake was thinking about how amazing it felt to be in Yang's arms in this position. Is this how the legendary princess carry feels like? She smiled and put her head on Yang's chest.

After a few minutes, they made it home and Yang walked Blake to her bed where she set her down softly and inspected her injury. She gently touched her ankle again and she was still in pain. She ran to the fridge and pulled out an ice pack. When she returned, she placed it on her ankle and Blake was immediately soothed.

"Is that better?"

"Much better, thank you." Yang climbed on the opposite side of the bed and put her foot on top of her lap. With her free hand, she started to give her a foot massage. "Oh Yang, you don't have to do that."

"Why not? You're still my princess for the day." Blake looked away as her cheeks turned red like cherries. Yang continued to massage Blake's foot and Blake started to take nice, deep breaths. After a while, Yang stopped and traveled up Blake's body and up to her face and kissed her on the lips.

"Where'd that come from?"

"I just wanted to." Blake smiled.

"Hey Yang, do you still think I should go to Beacon?"

"Why are you talking about this? You're going there. No more discussion."

"But that means…"

"Don't think about it. We still have time together." Yang wrapped her arms around Blake's body and pulled her head into her chest. "I love you Blake, don't forget that." Blake closed her eyes as tears started to fall from her eyes.

"I love you too Yang."

End of Chapter 23


	24. Chapter 24

Behind Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 24

Graduation Ever After

Today's the day. The day of graduation. Blake and Yang had another early start, but this time, Yang did her best to make Blake something special on a very special day for the both of them. Her food wasn't nearly as good as Blake's, but it was good nonetheless. During the day, they stayed on the couch and stayed in each other's arms. When the clock approached 4:00pm, they got ready and headed back to school with their cap and gowns on.

When they made it to school, students were instructed to meet inside the gym and everyone else was asked to go to track field. As the students filed into the gym, Blake and Yang stayed together, hand-in-hand, and kept happy thoughts in mind. Once everyone was there, the principal walked in with the school robe on and addressed the students.

"Well, you've made it. Your high school careers are now over." Everyone cheered. "Now, I'm not going to say much because I want to save all of the moments for on the field, but I'll say this. When you leave and move on to bigger and greater things, just remember who you are and the memories you've created with your friends. No one can take these things away from you and it's your job to shape these things into your future. So let's all put on smiles and enjoy this day." He wiped a tear from his face and readied himself to leave.

Another teacher instructed the students to line up in alphabetical order. Blake and Yang were somewhat nervous about separating on such a day like this. The crowd of students started to jumble, trying to get organized while Blake and Yang were still holding hands.

"I have to go Yang."

"Okay, I'll find you right after the ceremony."

"Okay." Yang tried to get one more look at Blake, but the crowd increased around them, causing them to separate and lose sight of each other. Yang dropped her head and lined up.

After a few minutes, they all lined up with the principal in front, teachers behind him, and the students following. Everyone took a deep breath and left the gym for the last time in their high school career.

They approached the track field and they could hear loud cheering and music from all corners of the school. The security guards opened the gate, allowing the staff and students to enter onto the track and walk around the field for the last time. As they were walking, Yang had her head down for she was alone on such a happy day of her life. A tear fell from her eye when a voice shouted her name.

"Yang!" She looked up and deep inside the crowds, she saw her mom and dad waving at her with such huge smiles. "You did it! We knew you could do it!" Yang was so shocked. What were they doing here? Why were they here? She looked at her father and he had smile on his face and thumbs held up high for her.

"I love you Yang!" She raised her arm and waved to them as strong as she could, but the emotions only made it harder for her to get through it when the ceremony barely started.

Once everyone made it around the track, they took their seats on the field and the ceremony began. It started with their national anthem, sung by the school choir and then greetings from the student council. Once that was done, the announcer called for the Valedictorian and little did she know, it was Blake. She rose from her seat with a gold sash around her neck and took to the stage. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a very important part of all of our lives. Sitting in front of all of you is the graduating the class 2014. We've come so far. It seems like we just started kindergarten a couple days ago. The path up to this point was a treacherous one. We experienced adversity, pain, and the struggles of school." The whole place laughed. "But, also, we can't forget about all the good things we done. Our first A, our first car, our first love." Yang gasped as her eyes widened at this comment. "Everything we've done up to this point was for a reason; some greater than others, but it was those things that made us who we are. Without the support of our friends and family, we wouldn't be anywhere so I thank all of you who are here today. All of you are responsible for us being here today. So without further ado, let us begin our lives and get this adventure on the road." The whole place went nuts. The students were cheering like mad men and the crowds were applauding as if they witnessed a symphony. Blake returned to her seat and the ceremony continued with the passing out of the diplomas.

Name after name, it seemed the ceremony was going on forever. Yang tried to keep her focus for she wanted to hear Blake's name. When the list got down to Blake's name, Yang cheered as loud as she could and Blake immediately blushed at the sound of Yang's voice cheering for her. More names went by and Yang's name was finally called. Everybody, even the guys she beat up, cheered for her. However, their eyes were huge and their mouths were drooling. On the other hand, her parents and Blake stood up and cheered as loud as they could. She couldn't help but let a tear fall from her eyes. She did it. She actually did it, and without the help of her parents. As she walked back to her seat, she raised her diploma to the sky for her parents to see.

More and more names were called and after some time, it was finally over. The principal returned to the stand for one more announcement.

"Ladies and gentleman, please give it up for the class of 2014." The students rose from their chairs and bowed to the audience. The speakers were turned on and everyone's favorite song was playing as they walked out onto the center of the field.

"I burn.  
Can't hold me now  
And you're never stopping.  
I burn.  
Swing all you want.  
Like a fever I will take you down."

As they walked out onto the field, Yang looked around everywhere, trying to find Blake, but no one looked familiar to her. Blake was sitting in the other block so she looked to the other side of the field, but couldn't find her. Just as time was running out, fireworks shot into the air and everyone threw their caps into the air and the crowds made their way off the stands and onto the field.

Yang bobbed and weaved through the immense crowd, but couldn't find Blake. She screamed out her name as loud as she could, but there was no response. She was a puppy, lost in the middle of nowhere. She spun her body around and around, but Blake was nowhere to be found. Then out of nowhere, she was turned around and brought into her parents' arms.

"Yang, we're so proud of you. We knew you could do it." Yang was speechless. Her father grabbed her by the shoulders and she looked at him nervously.

"I know we've been difficult these past few years, but I promise to never do it again. It's obvious that you're responsible enough to handle things on your own." He pulled her into his body and hugged her as tight as she could. "I'm so proud of you Yang, and I know Ruby would be too." Her eyes widened. She shut her eyes to stop the tears and squeezed her father as tight as she could as well.

They pulled away and stared at each other with tears in their eyes. Then, Yang caught a glimpse of someone behind her father.

"I'm sorry, but I gotta go. Thank you guys, for being here." She ran off. Her father let go of her hand and watched her leave. Her mother came up next to her and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Good job honey." She wiped off his tears.

"I love you guys." They both looked up for that was Yang's voice. She finally said it. She finally told them that she loved them. They both started to cry as they made their way to the exit. Their job was done and they were no longer needed.

Yang continued to chase the person who looked like Blake, shouting out her name as she grew further and further away from her. Finally, Yang lost sight of her and stopped dead in her tracks. She looked down and watched as her tears fell onto the grass. Blake, where are you?

"Yang?!" She brought her head back up. That voice, I know that voice.

"Blake, where are you?!"

"I'm here." Yang looked around for some sign. In the near distance, she saw a hand raised towards the sky and ran to it out of gut feeling. Pushing and shoving, she forced her way through until she finally made it. It was Blake.

"Blake!" Blake turned around. Yang put her hands on Blake's cheek and kissed her with more passion and love than she ever did. As their lips touched, sparks were sent through Blake's body causing her to nearly lose strength of her entire body.

Boom! Crash! Fireworks were shot into the sky and filled the sky with various colors and everyone cheered as they watched the light glimmer through the night sky. Yang pulled away and Blake's eyes were still closed as if she was touched by God.

"I'm sorry Blake, but I can't leave you. I wanna be with you. I need to be with you. I don't care if you're going to college and I'm not. I need you in my life. I'll find a job, something, just don't leave me…" Blake cut her off as she pressed her lips against Yang's.

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Blake."

"Yang, I love you." They smiled at each other.

"I love you too." Yang wrapped her arms around Blake and pulled her in for the most emotional hug of her life. Once the ceremony was over, Blake and Yang made their way back home where they spent the rest of the night in each other's arms. Hugs and kisses were exchanged throughout the night until they finally fell asleep, side by side with their faces right next to each other's.

…

During their summer break, they didn't really do much. Yang helped Blake pack for college, but they didn't shout out to the world that they were done with school. However, Blake and Yang did take a trip to the beach where they spent all of their time together, enjoying each other's company and talking about what life was going to be like at Vale. During the trip, Yang brought out her grandmother's ashes. She's had plans for her ashes for quite some time, but never had an opportunity to do anything with it. As they spent their time at the beach, they saw a mountain near the shore that had the perfect view of the ocean. They took a tour to the mountain and Yang pulled out the jar and opened it, causing the ashes to fly away in the wind.

"Goodbye grams, I love you and thank you for everything."

"Are you sure about this?" Yang smiled.

"It's what she would have wanted. After all, she did tell me that she wanted to visit the ocean at least once in her life. Why not just let her rest in the ocean?" She put her arm around Blake as they watched the sun set on that beautiful day.

…

Near the end of the summer, Blake and Yang gathered their things and moved to Vale. They were lucky enough to find a small house near the campus where they could share the place. It was a small one room, one bath house, but they didn't care. As long as they were together, they didn't care where they lived.

As the new school year came into sight, Blake was forced to attend more and more school related activities like orientation and freshman camps. While Blake was out doing those things, Yang spent her time in the city. Sometimes she would purposelessly wander through the streets, but other times, she would window shop or she would try to look for a job. At first, nothing seemed to attract her attention, but through patience and persistence, she found an opening. It was an orphan house for blind children. Yang walked in and asked for job openings. Immediately, she was called in for an interview. She was caught off guard, but tried her best to successfully get through the interview.

"So, what's your name?"

"Yang Xiao Long."

"And how old are you?"

"18."

"Did you graduate from high school?"

"Yes."

"Do plan to attend a college or university this fall?"

"No."

"Any reason for that?" Yang took a deep breath for this was an important question that needed to be answered correctly and thoughtfully.

"I had a very late start in school. It never really clicked for me until I met my best friend and she helped me get through it. She also made me realize that life is hard no matter what and that it's our job to fight through it to achieve what we most desire."

"Hm. And you know this is an orphan home for blind children?"

"Of course. That's why I came here. I should have said that that friend of mine is blind."

"Oh really? What's she like?" It was time to brag.

"She's incredible. She can do things that I've never seen another human being do. She does kendo and apparently, she's never lost a match in her life. Her touch, hearing, and smell are incredibly strong, but it kind of makes sense since she's blind."

"I see. And why do you want to work here? What's your motive?"

"Well, her background is so sad and so uplifting that I want to help kids who are blind to get through life. I want them to know that it can only get better from here. Vision isn't everything. I learned that from her. And I also thought that this would help me get to know her better." Her interviewer closed her eyes and smiled. She smiled and stood up.

"Well, welcome aboard. You're hired."

"Really?"

"I see the determination in your eyes and since you've already worked with a blind person before. This place could really use someone like you."

"Great. When do I work?"

"Any day you want. Just be sure to give us a heads up if you can't make it to work."

"Oh well in that case, I'll work every day."

"Even better. You can start tomorrow. Thank you Ms. Long."

"No, thank you." Yang walked out with a smile and made her way home. As she was returning home, a certain window caught her attention. She looked inside and immediately was attracted into it.

As the weekend came to an end, Blake was finally returning home. Her camps and orientation were ending since school was going to start the following week. When Blake walked through the door, Yang immediately ran at her and hugged her. She picked her up off the ground and spun her around and around until she got dizzy.

"Jeez, calm down Yang."

"Sorry, I'm just happy to see you."

"Me too. I…" She sniffed the room. "What's going on?"

"Oh, just a special welcome home lunch and possible dinner." The room smelt of roses and scented candles. Yang walked Blake to the table where she took her seat. Once they were seated, Yang asked Blake all about what was going on with school. She wanted to know everything and Blake could only tell her so much. As she was telling her stories, Yang reached inside her pocket for what she bought at the store. She smiled and took her hand out of her pocket.

There's no need to rush. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. When we're ready, I'll ask. For now, let's take this day by day and enjoy being together for the rest of our lives.

Yang put her arms on the table and opened her ears to listen to everything Blake was telling her. As the stories went on, another thought came to her mind. I could definitely get used to this.

The End

Epilogue: Blake remained at Beacon until she graduated with her Masters in communication. There was hype all over the campus about her being able to complete her Masters in only 4 years. She then moved on to work for the UN where she was the first blind interpreter to be on the board.

Yang worked at the orphan house for blind children where she enjoyed every day as if it was a completely new experience. There, she learned new things about life and how imaginative children were. She made so many friends, patients and co-workers alike. She continued to work there until the owner passed away and Yang decided to take it over. She later expanded it to a disability center where they would accept anyone. This change caused the city to grow and become closer as a community. This also helped Yang in that she was exposed to a wider view of the world which made being with Blake a lot easier.

As for Blake and Yang, they remained together forever. Their lives were finally going to start. Now, it was going to her and Yang against the world. After a few years, they decided to take in 2 kids as their little brothers and sisters. One blind girl and one deaf boy. As for what Yang bought at the store, she constantly kept it in her pocket, wondering when and where it would be the best time to make Blake truly hers.


	25. A Request for my Readers

A Request for my Readers

So for the past few weeks, something has been on my mind. I've been re-reading this story a lot lately and it's been bringing back a lot of memories. I've also been reading a lot of original doujinshis online. Now, this is something that is so far out there that I'm not expecting anything from you guys, but I would like to ask you something.

I've been wanting to _**Behind Those Hazel Eyes**_ into a doujinshi. However, I've tried numerous times before, but I can never get the results I'm looking for. So I was just hoping (big hope) that there might be someone here who might be interested in becoming the artist for it.

If you're interested, please PM me or something. If you guys think that this is just some stupid request, feel free to let me know or don't even comment about. I just wanted to know if this idea could become a reality… And hey, if it does, you guys would get to read about it in a whole new way. Anyway, thank you for spending the time to reading this little request and I just wanted to let you guys know that you're all the best,


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